NAME: Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea (I): see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12)
===
NAME: Sailor on the Deep Blue Sea (II): see The Deep Blue Sea (I) (File: R794)
===
NAME: Sailor on the Sea, The: see In London so Fair (File: HHH203)
===
NAME: Sailor, The: see John (George) Riley (I) [Laws N36] AND John (George) Riley II [Laws N37] (File: LN37)
===
NAME: Sailor's Adieu, The: see The Topsail Shivers in the Wind (File: SWMS059)
===
NAME: Sailor's Alphabet, The
DESCRIPTION: Capstan/pumping shanty; sailors remember the alphabet and tell of their, "merry" lives: "A is the anchor that hangs o'er the bow/And B is the bowsprit that bends like a bow.... So merry, so merry, so merry are we/No mortals on earth like a sailor at sea"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: sea ship work nonballad wordplay worksong sailor worker
FOUND_IN: Britain(England) US(MW,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, "The Sailor's Alphabet" (2 texts, 1 tune)
BrownIII 229, "Alphabet of the Ship" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 885-886, "The Sailor's Alphabet" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 98, "Alphabet Song" (2 texts, 1 tune; the "C" text is "The Logger's Alphabet")
Harlow, pp. 52-54, "The Sailor's Alphabet" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 456-458, "The Bosun's Alphabet," "Old English Chantey" (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 341-342]
Roud #159
RECORDINGS:
Clifford Jenkins et al, "The Sailor's Alphabet" (on LastDays)
Sam Larner, "Alphabet Song" (on SLarner01); "The Sailor's Alphabet" (on Voice12)
Capt. Leighton Robinson, "The Sailor's Alphabet" (on AFS, 1951; on LC26)
Leighton Robinson w. Alex Barr, Arthur Brodeur & Leighton McKenzie, "Sailor's Alphabet" (on AFS 4230 B, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Logger's Alphabet" (subject, form) and references there
NOTES: We've cross-referenced this enough that it deserves its own entry, although it's identical in form to "The Logger's Alphabet." - PJS
File: RcTSAlp
===
NAME: Sailor's Bride, The: see The Sailor and His Bride [Laws K10] (File: LK10)
===
NAME: Sailor's Burial at Sea: see The Sailor's Grave (File: Wa155)
===
NAME: Sailor's Come All Ye, The: see Hearts of Gold (File: SWMS068)
===
NAME: Sailor's Consolation
DESCRIPTION: wo sailors, Barney Buntline & Billy Bowline list the reasons they are lucky to be sailors, comparing the dangers of living on shore with the relatively free life they have. Sometimes has chorus of "With a tow row row-right to me addy, wi' a tow row row."
AUTHOR: Charles Dibdin (1745-1814) (also attributed to Pitt and Hood)
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1814
KEYWORDS: sailor ship shore
FOUND_IN: US Britain
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, p. 460, "Barney Buntline" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hugill gives some references, in particular that the tune for this was taken by a Prof. J. Glyn-Davies and turned into a Welsh sailors' song (also known as a children's song) "Can Huw Puw." Glyn-Davies seemed to believe that the original song was quite old and that the tune was also used in a song, "Miss Tickle Toby" which dates to the 16th century. - SL
File: Hugi460
===
NAME: Sailor's Grace, The: see The Salt Horse Song (File: FO226)
===
NAME: Sailor's Grave, The
DESCRIPTION: "Our bark was far, oh, far from land, When the fairest of our gallant band Grew deadly pale and pined away." Lacking "costly winding sheets," they wrap the dead man in his hammock and a flag and sadly bury him at sea
AUTHOR: Words: Eliza Cook / Music: John C. Baker
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (broadside, LOCSheet sm1845 402000)
KEYWORDS: sea sailor death funeral burial
FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE) Canada(Mar) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
GreigDuncan1 68, "The Sailor's Grave" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 160-162, "The Sailor's Grave" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, pp. 162-163, "The Sailor's Grave" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 155, "A Sailor's Grave" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 47, "Sailor's Burial at Sea" (1 text)
DT, SAILGRAV*
Roud #2676
RECORDINGS:
Pat Ford, "The Sailor's Grave" (AFS 4211 B1, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3383), "The Sailor's Grave" ("Our bark was far, far from the land"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 11(27), Harding B 11(4264), Harding B 11(3382), Harding B 11(3383), Harding B 11(3384), Harding B 16(240b), Harding B 26(586), Harding B 11(2745), Firth c.12(445), "The Sailor's Grave"
LOCSheet, sm1845 402000, "The Sailor's Grave" ("Our bark was out far, far from land"), F. D. Benteen (Baltimore), 1845; also sm1845 791150, "The Sailor's Grave" (tune)
NOTES: There is a parody of this ballad as broadside NLScotland, L.C.1269(176.a), "Parody On The Sailor's Grave,"Poet's Box (Glasgow?), 1863 - BS
File: Wa155
===
NAME: Sailor's Hornpipe in Caxon Street: see The Shirt and the Apron [Laws K42] (File: LK42)
===
NAME: Sailor's Life, A: see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12)
===
NAME: Sailor's New Leg, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer was a sailor at Trafalgar. With Nelson on the foredeck, he lost a leg to a cannonball. Dr Keg replaced it with one from "fighting Jim." Immediately he returned to the fight "and flew aboard the Frenchman like a rocket O!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: battle navy humorous sailor
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 21, 1805 - Battle of Trafalgar
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 147, "The Sailor's New Leg" (1 text)
Roud #5822
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Oh My Comrades You Must Know
NOTES: It probably goes without saying that the physician on the _Victory_ was not named "Dr. Keg." John Keegan, _The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare_, Penguin, 1988, 1990, p. 102, states that the surgeon who was with Nelson in his last hours was Doctor William Beatty. In addition, Nelson at least was not killed by a cannonball but by a musket round. - RBW
File: GrD1147
===
NAME: Sailor's Plea, The (Dear Sweetheart)
DESCRIPTION: "Dear sweetheart, as I write to you, My heart is filled with pain, For if these things... are true, I'll never see you again." The singer says, if she weds another, "My boat will never land." He recalls his work for her. He learns she still loves him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Henry, collected from Mabel Hall)
KEYWORDS: love separation sailor abandonment
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 151, "The Sailor's Plea" (1 text)
Roud #17050
File: MHAp151
===
NAME: Sailor's Return, The: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42)
===
NAME: Sailor's Sweetheart, The: see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12)
===
NAME: Sailor's Trade Is a Roving Life, A: see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12)
===
NAME: Sailor's Tragedy, The (The Sailor and the Ghost A): see The Sailor and the Ghost [Laws P34A/B] (File: LP34)
===
NAME: Sailor's Way, The
DESCRIPTION: The sailor tells of all the places he's been and seen: "I've sailed among the Yankees, the Spaniards and Chinese.... But I'll go to the dance hall and hear the music play, For around Cape Horn and home again, oh, that is the sailor's way!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936
KEYWORDS: sailor dancing rambling
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 109, "The Sailor's Way" (1 short text, reference for tune)
Hugill, pp. 386-388, "The Sailor's Way" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 295-296]
Smith/Hatt, p. 41, "Around the World and Home Again" (1 text)
ST Doe109 (Partial)
Roud #8239
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Dixie Brown" [Laws D7] (tune)
File: Doe109
===
NAME: Saint Clair's Defeat
DESCRIPTION: Saint Clair leads an army against the Indians "on the banks of the St. Marie." Hundreds of men are killed. The rest make their way home as best they can
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939
KEYWORDS: Indians(Am.) war
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov. 4, 1791 - The army of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, the first (territorial) governor of Ohio, is attacked by Indians on the banks of the Wabash.
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Eddy 116, "On the Eighth Day of November" (1 text, 1 tune -- though only Eddy's first verse goes with this ballad. Verses 2 and 3 come from "James Ervin" [Laws J15])
ST E116 (Full)
Roud #4028
NOTES: St. Clair's expedition was mounted by President Washington to deal with the refusal of the British to evacuate certain frontier forts. St. Clair was to build a fort on the site of what is now Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The exact magnitude of the defeat is uncertain; although St. Clair set out with a force variously estimated as from 2000 to 3000 men (including the entire U.S. regular army), he may have lost a thousand of those to disease and desertion along the way. His casualties have been variously estimated as 600 to 900 men.
As "On the Eighth Day of November, " this song is item dA30 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: E116
===
NAME: Saint George and the Drag-On
DESCRIPTION: "Oh what a dreary place this was when first the Mormons found it; They said no white men here could live...." But Mormon industry has transformed it, and "St. George ere long will be a place that everyone admires."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: home work
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fife-Cowboy/West 26, "St. George and the Drag-On" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #8596
NOTES: St. George is in southwestern Utah, just north of the Arizona border and not far from the Nevada boundary. It is not far from the Dixie National Forest (and the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre). It is perhaps a little more habitable than most of Utah -- and, of course, the Mormons, with their centralized, semi-communal society were very efficient at making a living in seemingly-impossible settings. - RBW
File: FCW26
===
NAME: Saint Helena (Boney on the Isle of St. Helena)
DESCRIPTION: A lament for Napoleon, "gone from his wars and his fightings." His past splendor is contrasted with his current fate. The sorrow of his wife Louisa is alluded to. His death is attributed to the malice of his enemies.
AUTHOR: James Watt? (source: broadside Bodleian Firth c.16(84))
EARLIEST_DATE: 1835 (Forget-Me-Not Songster)
KEYWORDS: exile lament Napoleon death grief
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1815 - Defeat at the Battle of Waterloo forces Napoleon into exile
1821 - Death of Napoleon
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) Ireland US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Moylan 209, "The Isle of Saint Helena" (1 text, 1 tune)
Eddy 96, "Lonely Louisa" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 146-147, "The Isle of St. Helena" (1 text plus reference to 1 more)
Warner 143, "Bony on the Isle of St. Helena" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 205-207, "Bonaparte on St. Helena" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 146, "The Isle of St. Helena" (4 texts, mostly defective)
Chappell-FSRA 109, "Napoleon" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 173, "Boney's Defeat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 111-112, "Napoleon Song," "Bonaparte on St. Helena" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 83, "Napoleon the Exile" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 102-104, "Napoleon Bonaparte" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, BNYSTHEL* BNYSTHE2
ST E096 (Full)
Roud #349
RECORDINGS:
Charles K. "Tink" Tillett, "Bony on the Isle of St. Helena" (on USWarnerColl01) [called simply "Bony" on the CD sleeve; the longer title is in the interior notes]
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 205, "The Island of St. Helena," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Harding B 11(1517), Firth c.16(99), Firth b.34(201), Harding B 11(847) [some words illegible], Harding B 11(1810), Harding B 11(1811), "Isle of St. Helena"; Harding B 25(1716), Harding B 11(3955), "The Island of St. Helena"; Harding B 25(245), "Bonapate's Lamentation at the Island of St. Helena"; Firth c.16(84), "Bonaparte's Departure for St. Helena"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell to Mackenzie" (meter)
cf. "Napoleon's Farewell to Paris" (subject)
cf. "The Royal Eagle" (subject: Marie Louisa's grief for Napoleon)
cf. "The New Bunch of Loughero" (theme: Marie Louise's grief for Napoleon)
cf. "The Removal of Napoleon's Ashes" (theme: Marie Louise's grief for Napoleon)
cf. "The Braes of Balquhither" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Firth c.16(84))
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Napoleon
Bone Part
NOTES: The grief of Marie Louisa of Austria (Napoleon's second wife) has become the only surviving theme in certain American versions of this ballad. Historically, there is little basis for this; she refused to go into exile with him to Elba, let alone St. Helena.
In fact, even before Napoleon went to Elba, she is reported to have taken General Adam Adelbert Neipperg as a lover. When he came back during the Hundred Days, she not only refused to join him, she wouldn't even allow him to see his son. By the time Napoleon died, Louisa had borne two children to other fathers.
"Mount Diana," referred to in some texts, is properly Diana's Peak, the highest point on Saint Helena (about 825 ft/250 meters above sea level). The link of Diana with the moon clearly reveals that this piece began life as a broadside; someone was using classical analogies.
The "Holy Alliance" is the coalition formed immediately after Napoleon's downfall. Its purpose was to prevent the rise of any Bonapartist pretenders. Ironically for an alliance that called itself "holy," the primary nations involved (Austria, Prussia, Russia; England was not a member) were more regressive than France. In addition, it eventually failed of its purpose, as Napoleon III later took over France.
This song seems to be known mostly from broadsides in Britain; its popularity and firm hold in tradition in the U. S. probably derives from its inclusion in the _Forget-Me-Not Songster_.
Ben Schwartz brought to my attention the attribution of this song to James Watt found in broadside Bodleian Firth c.16(84). There are two poems on ths broadside (which is rare but not unknown), and this one has an extended prose introduction (which is even more rare). What is more, the two songs do not appear to come from the same printing house: "Bonaparte's Departure for St. Helena" appears to be self-published, while the accompanying item, "Napoleon is the Boy For Kicking up a Row," is from one of the Poet's Box outlets (though the exact one has been scratched out).
Is this the original? It lacks one of the six standard stanzas, and there are many verbal differences from the usual texts. Even more curious is the occasional hints of confornity with Scots dialect. I can only say that there appears to have been recensional activity -- but whether that activity was applied by Watt to create this text, or by the Forget-Me-Not Songster, or by someone else, I cannot tell. I'm not ready to concede authorship on the rather thin basis of one broadside. - RBW
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "The Isle of St Helena" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
File: E096
===
NAME: Saint James Infirmary
DESCRIPTION: Big Joe McKennedy is in the bar, reporting that he "went down to St. James Infirmary, And I saw my baby there, Stretched out on a long white table...." He gambled, and now must pay. He prepares to die, makes requests for his funeral, (blames the woman)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: disease death funeral drink
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So,SW)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 94, "How Sad Was the Death of my Sweetheart" (1 short text, with few of the familiar words but the correct plot and the "Let her go, let her go" chorus)
Sandburg, pp. 228-231, "Those Gambler's Blues" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Thorp/Fife XIII, pp. 148-190 (29-30), "Cow Boy's Lament" (22 texts, 7 tunes, the "N" text being in fact a version of this piece)
Darling-NAS, pp. 9-10, "Gambler's Blues" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 76, "St. James Infirmary" (1 text)
DT 350, STJAME
Roud #2 (!)
RECORDINGS:
Louis Armstrong & his Hot Five, "St. James Infirmary" (OKeh 8657, 1929; rec. 1928)
Rube Bloom & his Bayou Boys, "St. James' Infirmary" (Columbia 2103-D, 1930)
Dock Boggs, "Old Joe's Barroom" (on Boggs2, BoggsCD1)
Chick Bullock, "St. James Infirmary" (Velvet Tone 7063-V, 1930/Diva 6037, n.d.)
Martha Copeland, "Dyin' Crap Shooter's Blues" (Columbia 14427-D, 1929; rec. 1927)
Rosa Henderson, "Dyin' Crap Shooter's Blues" (Pathe Actuelle 7535/Perfect 135/TMH 7535, 1927)
Mattie Hite, "St. Joe's Infirmary" (Columbia 15403-D, 1930)
Frankie Marvin, "Those Gambler's Blues" (Crown 3076, 1931)
Viola McCoy, "Dyin' Crap Shooter's Blues" (Romeo 453 [as Fannie Johnson]/Cameo 1225/Lincoln 2690, 1927)
Pete Seeger, "St. James Infirmary" (on PeteSeeger32)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bad Girl's Lament (St. James' Hospital; The Young Girl Cut Down in her Prime)" [Laws Q26] (theme)
cf. "Dear Companion (The Broken Heart; Go and Leave Me If You Wish To, Fond Affection)" (the "let her go" lyrics)
cf. ""Sweet Heaven (II)" (the "let her go" lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Old Time Gambler's Song
NOTES: Many early jazz & popular recordings attribute authorship (of the popular version) to "Joe Primrose," a pseudonym for Irving Mills. His copyright, though, seems to have been registered in 1929, or after Armstrong's influential recording. Presumably he was registering ownership rather than authorship. - PJS
File: San228
===
NAME: Saint John's Girl
DESCRIPTION: The singer happens to be in St John's and meets a pretty girl who drinks his champagne. He buys her a pair of kid gloves. Given a kiss and thinking to score, the singer looks to pawn his gold watch but finds she had already lifted it and his scarf pin.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: seduction theft beauty trick drink clergy
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leach-Labrador 87, "St John's Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab087 (Partial)
Roud #9975
File: LLab087
===
NAME: Saint Louis, Bright City: see Behind These Stone Walls (File: R165)
===
NAME: Saint Patrick of Ireland, My Dear!
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls St Patrick's miracles while the liquor holds out: he arrived mounted on "a paving stone," drank a gallon of liquor from a quart pot, turned mutton to salmon on Friday, and drove out the snakes.
AUTHOR: Dr Maginn (source: Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1821 (_Blackwoods Magazine_, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: drink food Ireland humorous supernatural
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 28-33, "St Patrick of Ireland, My Dear!" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Night Before Larry Was Stretched" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs discusses the miracles in some detail. Apparently, it was not Patrick himself but a leprous disciple -- refused passage on Patrick's ship by the crew -- who accompanied the ship on Patrick's stone altar thrown into the sea as a float for the purpose. Patrick, at one point, craves meat on Friday but an apparition has Patrick put the meat into water; when the meat turned into fishes Patrick was saved by the miraculous sign from sinning and never ate meat again. Dr Maginn's source for the "facetious" [Croker's term] song is Father Jocelyn who, Croker points out, did not mention the "miracle of the Saint's 'never-emptying can, commonly called St Patrick's pot'." In the last verse the singer wishes that he had such a pot so that he could continue the song. - BS
According to Benet's _Reader's Encyclopedia_, Dr. William Maginn (1793-1842) was the "Prototype of Captain Shandon in _Pendennis_ by Thackeray." _The New Century Handbook of English Literature_ lists him as the co-founder of _Fraser's Magazine_, and mentions among his works _The City of Demons_ and _Bob Burke's Duel with Ensign Bray_. His most popular poem was probably "I Give My Soldier Boy a Blade," though I find myself more intrigued by the title "the Rime of the Auncient Waggonere." - RBW
File: CPS028
===
NAME: Saint Patrick Was a Gentleman
DESCRIPTION: "St. Patrick was a gentleman, and came of decent people"; they are named O'Houlihan, O'Shaughnessy... He preached from a high hill and "banished all the varmin!" Vermin's misfortunes are described. He planted turf, brought pigs and brewed good whiskey.
AUTHOR: Henry Bennett and Mr. Toleken (source: Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1814-1815 (according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: drink humorous patriotic religious animal
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 22-27, "St Patrick Was a Gentleman" (1 text)
O'Conor, p. 105, "St Patrick Was a Gentleman" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Gulielmus Dubliniensis Humoriensis [Joseph Tully?], Memoir of the Great Original Zozimus (Michael Moran) (Dublin,1976 (reprint of the 1871 edition)), pp. 9-10, "St. Patrick Was a Gintleman"
Roud #13377
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 16(241c), "St. Patrick Was a Gentleman", T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also 2806 c.18(277), Harding B 11(3395), Harding B 20(151), Harding B 11(2874), "St. Patrick Was a Gentleman"
NOTES: The Croker-PopularSongs and O'Conor texts are very close, with a few place and person names changed and verse order changed. Croker would have considered the names of the Saint's parents on his father's side a significant change. Croker has that "His father was a Gallagher, His mother was a Brady"; both texts agree on his mother's side. Croker explains the pedigree: "St Patrick was an Irish [not French, Scotch, Welsh, ....] gentleman. The Gallaghers were a family of consideration in Donegal; the Bradys were the same in Cavan; the O'Shaughnessy, ditto in Galway; and the O'Gradys 'possessed that part of Clare which is now called the Barony of Bunratty.' This 'respectable' pedigree settles the matter."
Croker-PopularSongs says that two verses "were subsequent additions by other hands [than Bennett and Toleken]" Those are the verses missing from the broadsides. - BS
In this index, Toleken is also responsible for "Judy MacCarthy of Fishamble Lane." - RBW
File: OCon105
===
NAME: Saint Patrick's Arrival
DESCRIPTION: Saint Patrick exhortes the Irish to give up poteen and gives them other stuff to drink. They dump his stuff into a puncheon where it mixes with whisky. He tries to ask about the puncheon but they think he said "punch" and so name the drink.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Saint Patrick arrives in Bantry Bay "on the back of a whale" and is greeted by bosthoons, spalpeens, and other rustics. He promises to bring them together and rid them of their sins while he entertains them by driving the devil "beyond the Black Sea." Then he exhorts them to give up poteen. He sleeps and, when he wakes, is upset to find them with their cruiskeens and bags filled with whisky. He tries replacing their whisky with "something sweet ... [and] something sour" while they sleep. When they wske they dumped his stuff into a tub [puncheon] where it mixes with whisky. "By the side of this mixture Each man grew a fixture." Patrick is upset at his plan being foiled by this "spawn of Druids" He tries to ask about the puncheon but, in the uproar, only "punch" could be heard. The drinkers assumed that "punch ... is the name of this thing That is drink for a king."
KEYWORDS: drink Ireland humorous religious Devil talltale wordplay
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 16-22, "Saint Patrick's Arrival" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Patrick's Day in the Morning" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "Explanatory of the Origin of the word 'Punch.'" Puncheon here is taken to be "a large cask of varying capacity" (source: _Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged_, 1976; the same source has "punch, as "a hot or cold beverage ....," with a derivation perhaps from the Hindi or Sanskrit word for five, from "the number of ingredients.") - BS
Croker-PopularSongs: "The editor has been told that the author is a gentleman named Wood, an officer of the army; and that, some years since, the song was printed in the _Cork Southern Reporter_ newspaper with the signature 'Lanner de Waltram.'" - BS
File: CrPS016
===
NAME: Saint Patrick's Day
DESCRIPTION: Ask Patrick's protection. He secured Ireland's faith for the Catholic church. We pray for his support for Irish independence. In 1800 Pitt managed parliament's dissolution. Our champions now are Dan O'Connell, Shiel, and tithe opponent Fergus O'Connor.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political religious
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1759-1806 - Life of William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister 1783-1801 and from 1804 until his death
1775-1847 - Life of Daniel O'Connell
1794-1855 - life of Fergus (Feargus) O'Connor
1798 - United Irish rebellion causes England to decide on Union with Ireland
1800 - Act of Union passed by British and Irish parliaments, causing a parliamentary Union to take effect in 1801
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: ()
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian,Harding B 25(75), "St. Patrick's Day" ("Ye sons of this lovely but ill fated nation"), unknown, n.d.
NOTES: The form and last line of each verse suggest that the tune is "St Patrick's Day in the Morning."
Broadside Bodleian Harding B 25(75) is the basis for the description.
The reference .".. our noble parliament then was dismembered ... pitt managed ...."[The broadside misses capitalization throughout] is to the 1801 "Act of Union" -- supported by Pitt and Robert Stewart (Lord Castlereagh) -- that formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" and abolished the Dublin Parliament. (sources: _Britain and Ireland_ by Marjie Bloy on the Victorian Web site;_Robert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh_ on the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos site)
The reference to tithe opposition suggests a date for this broadside before the end of "The Tithe War." Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Association was formed in 1823 to resist the requirement that Irish Catholics pay tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The "war" was passive for most of the period 1823-1836, though there were violent incidents in 1831 (source: _The Irish Tithe War 1831_ at the OnWar.com site)
Shiel in this broadside is probably Richard Lalor Sheil, one of O'Connells lieutenants (see Zimmermann, p. 256). - BS
Fergus O'Connor was elected M.P. for Cork in 1832 and 1835 and, in 1832, was involved in passing the Reform Act. (sources: Zimmermann p. 212, "Feargus O'Connor (1794-1855)" at the BBC site) - BS
It should be noted that Saint Patrick did *not" secure Ireland for the Catholic Church -- that, in fact, was done by the English, who suppressed the practices of the Celtic Church; Henry II invaded, with the consent of Pope Adrian IV in the bull _Laudabiliter_ (see Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, Barnes & Noble, 1988/1993, pp. 67-72; Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, Simon & Schuster, 2000, pp. 10-12). Patrick helped bring Christianity to Ireland, but distance from Rome had caused the local version to drift far from the Roman standard (something which had, incidentally, happened in England also, though England, being closer to Rome, had regularized things at the Synod of Whitby centuries before).
For the Irish parliament destroyed by the Act of Union, see especially "Ireland's Glory." For the Act of Union itself, see "The Wheels of the World." For Daniel O'Connell, see "Daniel O'Connell (II)" plus the many songs cited under "Daniel O'Connell (I)." For Fergus O'Connor, see "Fergus O'Connor and Independence." - RBW
File: BdStPaDy
===
NAME: Saint Patrick's Day in Paris
DESCRIPTION: Let Irishmen and honest men, in Ireland or France, "religiously think 'Tis his duty to drink On St Patrick's day in the morning" War is past. "Can Wellington's glory be ever forgot On the banks of the Seine, or the banks of the Shannon?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: war drink France Ireland humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 33-34, "St Patrick's Day in Paris" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Patrick's Day in the Morning" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "From a manuscript copy in the autograph of Sir Jonah Barrington, endorsed, 'Sung with great applause at a meeting which assembled in the City of Paris, to celebrate the anniversary of the Saint of Hibernia.' This was, probably, the 17th March, 1816." - BS
File: CPS033
===
NAME: Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning (I)
DESCRIPTION: Saint Patrick drove out the witches and necromancers. "This champion of Christ did their magic expel." "He showed ... the right way to live and the true way to die ... On Saint Patrick's Day in the morning"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: Ireland patriotic religious magic
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 129, "Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning" (1 fragment)
NOTES: The current description is based on the Tunney-StoneFiddle fragment. - BS
File: TSF129
===
NAME: Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning (II)
DESCRIPTION: "On St Patrick's day in the morning" there'll be music, dancing, fine food, and whiskey. St Patrick may not have made the blind to see but "many great things he did for his island." Celebrate the day. "All this to begin, sir, We think it no sin, sir"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(213))
KEYWORDS: dancing drink music Ireland humorous nonballad religious
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: ()
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(213), "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" ("Ye lads and ye lasses so buxom and clever"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 28(213) is the basis for the description. - BS
File: BdSPDIM2
===
NAME: Saint Stephen and Herod [Child 22]
DESCRIPTION: Stephen sees the star of Bethlehem, and tells his master King Herod that he can no longer serve him because he must serve the better child in Bedlam. Herod says that the roasted cock will sooner crow. It does crow, and Herod has Stephen stoned.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1856, from ms of c. 1430 ( (British Museum -- Sloane MS. 2593)
KEYWORDS: religious bird execution
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 4 B.C.E. - Death of Herod the Great
(not before) 30 C.E. - Death of Stephen
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Child 22, "St Stephen and Herod" (1 text)
Bronson 22, "St Stephen and Herod" (1 version)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 217-218, "St. Stephen and Herod" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's (#1)}
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 239-241, "St. Stephen and Herod" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's (#1)}
Leach, pp. 107-108, "St. Stephen and Herod" (1 text)
OBB 98, "St. Stephen and King Herod" (1 text)
PBB 1, "Saint Stephen and Herod" (1 text)
Gummere, pp. 295-296+362, "St. Stephen and Herod" (1 text)
DT 22, STPHEROD*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #255, "ACarol for Saint Stephen's Day" (1 text)
Roud #3963
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Roasted Cock" (plot)
cf. "The Wife of Usher's Well" (plot)
NOTES: For the stoning of Stephen (c. 30-31 C.E.) see Acts 7:54-8:2 (note that Herod had been dead for more than thirty years when Stephen was killed!).
For the birth of Jesus in the time of Herod (probably 6 B.C.E) see Matt. 1:18-2:23, Luke 1:5f.
For the cruelty of Herod, see also Josephus, Antiquities (the end of Herod's life is the primary theme of Josephus's book XVII, detailing, e.g., the executions of several of Herod's sons and the mass slaughter he planned to follow his death).
The only recent find of this, and the only version with a tune, is the version Flanders collected from George Edwards; she speculates that his source (his grandfather) may have learned it from print. - RBW
File: C022
===
NAME: Sair Fyel'd, Hinny
DESCRIPTION: "(I/Aw) was young and lusty, I was fair and clear... Mony a lang year." "Sair fyel'd, hinny, sair fyel'd now, Sair fyel'd, hinny, sin' I ken'd thou." The singer looks back on his young days, and admits, at 65, to being both "stiff and cauld."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: youth age
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Stokoe/Reay, p. 48, "Sair Fyel'd, Hinny" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan3 481, "The Shoemaker at His Last" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
ST StoR048 (Full)
Roud #3062
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Says the Old Man to the Oak Tree" (lyrics)
NOTES: At least some versions of this share the lyric "Says t'auld man to th' old tree" ("Says the Old Man to the Oak Tree), also found in _Gammer Gurton's Garland_, but I don't know if they were initially two which joined or one which split. I very tentatively split them because, well, we're splitters. - RBW
The GreigDuncan3 version is printed with strokes above the notes indicating a hammer stroke during singing. - BS
File: StoR048
===
NAME: Sal and the Baby
DESCRIPTION: "I went down town to see my lady. Nobody's home but Sal an' the baby. Sal was drunk, and the baby crazy; All that comes of being so lazy."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: drink baby
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 44, "Sal and the Baby" (1 text)
Roud #7863
File: Br3044
===
NAME: Sal's Got a Meatskin
DESCRIPTION: "Sal's got a meatskin hid away/gonna get a meatskin someday"; "Sal a-sailing on the sea/Sal got a meatskin a-waiting for me"; more verses along that line.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930s (recording, Carlisle Bros.)
KEYWORDS: sex virginity bawdy nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 63, "Sal's Got a Meatskin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 156, "Sal Got A Meatskin" (1 text)
Roud #4201
RECORDINGS:
Arthur "Brother-in-Law" Armstrong, "Johnny Got a Meat Skin Laid Away" (AFS 3979 A2, 1940)
Cliff & Bill Carlisle, "Sal Got a Meatskin" (Panacord 25639, 1930s, on TimesAint03)
Cliff Carlisle, "Sal Got a Meat Skin" (Vocalion 02740, 1934, probably a different recording from that by Cliff & Bill Carlisle)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Sal Got a Meatskin" (on NLCR03, NLCR11, NLCRCD1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sal Got A Sugarlip"
cf. "Great Big Taters in Sandy Land" (floating verses)
cf. "Sally Anne" (lyrics)
NOTES: A "meatskin" is fat pork, used to grease a pan and as an anti-inflammatory folk medicine. In this song, however, it refers to a maidenhead. - PJS
File: CSW063
===
NAME: Sal's in the Garden Sifting Sand: see Sally in the Garden (File: CSW067)
===
NAME: Sal'sb'ry Sal: see Speed the Plow (Sal'sb'ry Sal) (File: FlBr026)
===
NAME: Saladin Mutiny (I): see Charles Augustus (or Gustavus) Anderson [Laws D19] (File: LD19)
===
NAME: Saladin Mutiny (II), The: see George Jones [Laws D20] (File: LD20)
===
NAME: Saladin's Crew
DESCRIPTION: Hazelton is waiting to be hanged. He hopes his parents do not hear of his death. He prays that God "can pardon us all ... Even Fielding ... that proved my downfall" He thinks of his youth and the girl "who taught me to love in a far distant land"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: ship mutiny execution farewell
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1844 - the former pirate Fielding convinces part of the crew of the "Saladin" to mutiny against the harsh Captain Mackenzie. The conspirators then turn against Fielding; they are taken and executed after the ship is wrecked off Halifax
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-NovaScotia 111, "Saladin's Crew" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS111 (Partial)
Roud #1818
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Charles Augustus Anderson" [Laws D19] (subject)
cf. "George Jones" [Laws D20] (subject)
NOTES: This song is item dD45 in Laws's Appendix II.
Another of the Saladin conspirators speaks out (cf. "Charles Augustus (or Gustavus) Anderson [Laws D19]" and "George Jones [Laws D20]"). Here is John Hazelton. Hazelton -- like Anderson and Jones -- was convicted and hanged. Has William Trevaskiss, the fourth of the hanged mutineers, a ballad as well? (Source: _Pirates of Canada_ by Cindy Vallar on the Pirates and Privateers site for the History of Maritime Piracy) - BS
For details on the Saladin Mutiny, see the notes to "Charles Augustus (or Gustavus) Anderson" [Laws D19] - RBW
File: CrNS111
===
NAME: Salangadou
DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Salangadou-ou-ou (x3), Salangadou, Cote piti fille la ye, Salangadou, Salangadou?" "Salangadou, where is my little girl gone, Salangadou?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Peterson, "Creole Songs from New Orleans")
KEYWORDS: children separation foreignlanguage nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-ABFS, p. 223, " Salangadou" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 339, "Salangadou" (1 text)
DT, SALANGDU*
File: LxA223
===
NAME: Salcombe Seaman's Flaunt to the Proud Pirate, The: see High Barbaree [Child 285; Laws K33] (File: C285)
===
NAME: Sale of a Wife
DESCRIPTION: A (ship carpenter), hard up for money for drink and tired of quarreling with his wife, puts her up for sale. After a lively auction, a sailor wins her. He takes her home and they live happily
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: abandonment humorous husband wife sailor
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H226, pp. 511-512, "The Ship Carpenter's Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 253-254, "Cabbage and Goose" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, CARPWIFE
Roud #2898
RECORDINGS:
Eddie Butcher, "The Ship Carpenter's Wife" (on IREButcher01)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(119), "The Ship Carpenter's Wife," unknown, c. 1830-1850
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "In Praise of John Magee" (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Auction of a Wife
John Hobbs
Wife for Sale
NOTES: The National Library of Scotland site notes that this sort of thing actually did happen, and even includes a broadside (NLScotland, L.C.1268, "Sale of a Wife," W. Boag (?), Newcastle, describing an event of July 16, 1828) allegedly documenting such a sale. - RBW
File: HHH226
===
NAME: Salisbury Plain
DESCRIPTION: The singer and a handsome young man adjourn to an inn, eat, drink, and proceed to bed. He promises to support her by highway robbery. The next morning he robs the mail coaches. She laments that he now lies in Newgate Gaol, expecting to be hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904
LONG_DESCRIPTION: While walking on Salisbury Plain, the singer meets a handsome young man. They adjourn to an inn, eat, drink, and proceed to bed. He asks her to undress; she consents, provided he will "keep all those flash-girls away". He consents in turn promising to support her by highway robbery. The next morning, he robs the mail coaches. In the last verse, she laments the fact that he now lies in Newgate Gaol, expecting to be hanged.
KEYWORDS: courting love sex bargaining execution prison robbery lover
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 95, "Salisbury Plain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1487
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Le petit roysin" (tune; 15th cen.)
cf. "The Wild and Wicked Youth" [Laws L12] (theme)
cf. "It's Down in Old Ireland" (theme)
cf. "Gilderoy" (theme)
NOTES: [The Vaughan Williams] version was collected in 1904; however, the singer clearly knew the song in 1893, when an unsuccessful attempt was made to collect it. -PJS
File: VEL095
===
NAME: Salish Song of Longing, A
DESCRIPTION: "Yah-nay ha-nay hay Yah-nay ha-nay Yah-hay ay hee-nay Ah-ah nay-hay. Ah-nay hay-hee-nay-yeh!..." Translation: "Far far away, Far far away, Oh far far away Oh there my heart doth lay...."
AUTHOR: unknown (English translation by Alan Mills)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1912
KEYWORDS: Indians(Am) separation nonballad foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Canada(West)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 4-5, "A Salish Song of Longing" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Colected by Marius Barbeau from an Indian delegation visiting Ottawa in 1912. its source was the Salish Indians of the Thompson River in British Columbia. (Salish is actually a language group of about twenty languages, used mostly by the natives of the Pacific Coast area.) The tune was used in the film "The Loon's Necklace." - RBW
File: FMB004
===
NAME: Sallie Goodin: see Sally Goodin (File: LoF121)
===
NAME: Sally and Her Lover: see The Lady Leroy [Laws N5] (File: LN05)
===
NAME: Sally and Her True Love: see A Rich Irish Lady (The Fair Damsel from London; Sally and Billy; The Sailor from Dover; Pretty Sally; etc.) [Laws P9] (File: LP09)
===
NAME: Sally Anne
DESCRIPTION: "Oh where are you going, Sally Anne? (x3) I'm going to the wedding, Sally Anne. Oh shake that little foot, Sally Anne, (x3), You're a pretty good dancer, Sally Anne." "Did you ever see a muskrat, Sally Ann...." Other verses are equally unrelated
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad marriage courting animal
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
SharpAp 240, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 63, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 117, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 53, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 175, "Sally Ann" (1 text)
Roud #3652
RECORDINGS:
Frank Blevins & his Tar Heel Rattlers, "Sally Aim [sic]" (Columbia 15765-D, 1932; rec. 1927; on LostProv1 as "Sally Ann")
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Sally Ann" (OKeh 40419, 1925)
Rufus Crisp, "Blue Goose" (on Crisp01)
The Hillbillies, "Sally Ann" (OKeh 40336, 1925) (Vocalion 5019/Brunswick 105 [as Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters], 1927)
Clint Howard et al, "Sally Ann" (on Ashley02, WatsonAshley01)
Doc Roberts, "Sally Ann" (Perfect 15467, 1931)
Pete Seeger, "Sally Ann" (on PeteSeeger06, PeteSeegerCD01); Sally Ann" (on PeteSeeger18)
J. C. "Jake" Staggers, "Sally Ann" (on FolkVisions2)
George Stoneman, "Sally Anne" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702)
Art Thieme, "Sally Ann" (on Thieme01)
Wade Ward, "Sally Ann" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Great Big Taters in Sand Land" (tune)
cf. "Sal's Got a Meatskin" (lyrics)
NOTES: Lomax says that this is the same melody as the fiddle piece "Sandy Land," in turn related to "Sally Goodin." [But Lomax wasn't a fiddler. The tune is related to "Sandy Land" (actually "Great Big Taters in Sandy Land"), but I draw the line at "Sally Goodin." I'm no fiddler, either, but I've backed up a lot of them. - PJS] Certainly the banal and unrelated verses are what one would expect of a fiddle tune with words added. - RBW
The Rufus Crisp recording, "Blue Goose," is a conglomerate. But as we define it, "Sally Anne" is a song with this pattern, a lot of floating verses, and the name, "Sally Anne." What more do we want? - RBW, PJS.
File: SKE63
===
NAME: Sally Around the Corner O
DESCRIPTION: "Sally O, Sally O, Sally around the corner O, All day we'll heave away And it's Sally around the corner O"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1956 (NovaScotia1)
KEYWORDS: shanty work nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Joseph Hyson, "Sally Around the Corner O" (on NovaScotia1)
NOTES: The current description is all of the NovaScotia1 fragment.
NovaScotia1 Joseph Hyson in the notes: "That was used for heaving up the ship's anchor. There'd be a whole crowd and there'd be a verse, and then we'd join on that chorus. I can't remember the verses."
NovaScotia1 notes: "By both words and tune, Sally Around the Corner O appears to be a different sea chanty from the one known as Round the Corner Sally."
I guess this is not "Round the Corner, Sally." Cf. "Round the Corner, Sally" in Stan Hugill, _Shanties from the Seven Seas_, pp. 297-298. The chorus there is "'Round the corner an' away we'll go, 'Round the corner Sally! 'Round th' corner where them gals do go, 'Round the corner Sally!" In that shanty Hugill says "The 'corner' indicated in this shanty seems to be Cape Horn." - BS
File: RcSATCO
===
NAME: Sally Brown
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic lines: "Way, hey, roll and go... Spend my money on Sally Brown." The singer describes Sally ("A Creole lady... She had a farm in Jamaica... She had a fine young daughter") and his (unsuccessful) courtship
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Robinson)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor courting parting
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW) Australia Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (17 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 74-76, "Sally Brown" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 33-34, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune, though most of the lyrics seem to be from "Shenandoah")
Bone, pp. 97-98, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 82, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 87, 122, "Way Sing Sally," "Sally Brown (Roll and Go)" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Hugill, pp. 162-166, "Sally Brown," "Tommy's on the Tops'l Yard" (4 texts plus several fragments, 3 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 129-134]; p. 254, "Hilo, Johnny Brown" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 184]
Sharp-EFC, XXVIII, p. 33, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 24-25, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 24, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, p. 94, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 166, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle3, p. 53, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, p. 31, "Sally Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 108, "Sally Brown" (2 texts)
Silber-FSWB, p. 92, "Sally Brown" (1 text)
DT, SALBROWN* SALBRWN2* (SALBRWN3)
Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). Two versions of "Sally Brown" are in Part 2, 7/21/1917.
Roud #2628
RECORDINGS:
J. M. (Sailor Dad) Hunt, "Sally Brown" (AFS, 1941; on LC02)
Leighton Robinson w. Alex Barr, Arthur Brodeur & Leighton McKenzie, "Sally Brown" (AFS 4231 A2, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Roll and Go" (verses)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Roll and Go
Walkalong, You Sally Brown
Stand to Yer Ground
File: Doe074
===
NAME: Sally Buck, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer goes hunting "one cold and winter day." (He tracks "the Sally buck all day.") Sundry adventures follow; the singer reports "of (15 or 20), ten thousand I did kill." The singer ends "If you can tell a bigger lie, I swear you ought to be hung."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: animal nonsense supernatural hunting talltale paradox
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
SharpAp 159, "Sally Buck" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 70, "The Sally Buck" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 107-109, "[I Went Out A-Hunting, Sir]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 4, "A Hunting Tale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3607
RECORDINGS:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "On a Bright and Summer's Morning" (on BLLunsford01)
NOTES: The variation in this song is immense; of the four versions I've seen, the only common element is the fact that the singer is a hunter and that at some point, "of fifteen or twenty" (or four-and-twenty, or some such), "a thousand (or ten thousand) I did kill."
Along the way the hunter meets various misadventures; these may be borrowed from other songs, and in any case take on local color.
The final stanza, along the line of, "The man who wrote this song, his name was (Benny Young/Bango Bang); If you can tell a bigger lie, I swear you ought (to be hung/to hang)," is characteristic but does not occur in all versions. - RBW
File: SKE70
===
NAME: Sally Come Up
DESCRIPTION: A song in praise of Sally that manages to stress all her bad features: "Sally has got a lubly nose, Flat across her face it grows, It sounds like thunder when it blows.... Sally come up, oh, Sally come down, Oh, Sally, come twist your heels around...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1859 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
FSCatskills 148, "Sally Come Up" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The earliest printed text of this piece credits the words to T. Ramsey and the music to E. W. Mackney, but as early as 1862 other names began to appear. Paskman and Spaeth believe the song to be a spoof of "Sally in Our Alley." - RBW
Having finally read the lyrics to "Sally in Our Alley," I think Paskman & Spaeth are all wet. The only common element is the name "Sally." - PJS
Note that they don't call it a parody; it's just supposed to be based on the same cahracter. Still a stretch, I allow.
There is a parody, though, by a well-known author -- none other than Lewis Carroll! Carroll's diary forJuly 3, 1862 mentions hearing the Liddell sisters singing this song (obviously implying some amount of oral currency by then), and in the original draft of _Alice in Wonderland_, he had this Mock Turtle's Song:
Salmon, come up! Salmon, go down!
Salmon, come twist your tail around!
Of all the fishes of the sea
There's none so good as Salmon!
Cazden et al list a number of other early parodies (including the above, though I'm getting my information from Martin Gardner's _The Annotated Alice_, which is more detailed.) - RBW
File: FSC148
===
NAME: Sally Go Round the Moon
DESCRIPTION: "Sally go round the (sun), Sally go round the (moon), Sally go round the (stars), On a Saturday afternoon."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme)
KEYWORDS: travel playparty
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #636, pp. 251-252, "(Sally go round the sun)"
File: BGMG636
===
NAME: Sally Gooden: see Sally Goodin (File: LoF121)
===
NAME: Sally Goodin
DESCRIPTION: "Had a piece of pie an' I had a piece of puddin', An' I gave it all away just to see my Sally Goodin." About how much the singer loves Sally, how he courts her -- with perhaps a few sundry comments about food and liquor along the way
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (recording, Eck Robertson)
KEYWORDS: love courting nonballad floatingverses dancetune
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 121, "Sally Goodin" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 544, "Sally Goodin" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 403-404, "Sally Goodin" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 544A)
BrownIII 89, "Sally Goodin" (5 fragments, though "D" and "E" might be other songs)
Fuson, p. 158, "Sallie Goodin" (seventh of 12 single-stanza jigs) (1 short text)
Cambiaire, p. 56, "Sally Gooden" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, p. 255, "Sally Goodin" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 33, "Sally Goodin" (1 text)
DT, SALGOODN
Roud #739
RECORDINGS:
Clifford Gross & Muryel Campbell, "Sally Gooden" (Vocalion 03650, 1937)
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Sallie Goodman" (OKeh 40095-A, 1924)
James Crase, "Sally Goodin" (on MMOKCD)
[G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Sally Gooden" (Gennett 6733/Champion 15501 [as by Norman Gayle], 1928)
Vester Jones, "Sally Goodin" (on GraysonCarroll1)
Kessinger Brothers, "Sally Goodin" (Brunswick 308, c. 1929)
Neil Morris & Charlie Everidge, "Sally Goodin" [instrumental w. dance calls] (on LomaxCD1707)
John D. Mounce et al, "Sally Gooden" (on MusOzarks01)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Sally Goodin" (on NLCR02) (NLCR16)
Pickard Family, "Sally Goodin" (Regal 8810, 1929; probably the same as Dad Pickard's recording, Banner 6434, 1929)
Fiddlin' Powers and Family, "Sally Goodin" (Victor, unissued, 1924)
Riley Puckett, "Sally Goodwin" (Columbia 15102-D, 1926)
Eck Robertson, "Sally Goodin" (Victor 18956, 1922)
Ernest V. Stoneman "Sally Goodwin" (Edison, unissued, 1927) (Edison 52350, 1928) (CYL: Edison [BA] 5529, 1928) (Edison 0000 [development disk], 1928)
Uncle "Am" Stuart, "Sally Gooden" (Vocalion 14841, 1924)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Cripple Creek (I)" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Another piece that endures mostly as a fiddle tune. Given the lyrics, it's not hard to see why. - RBW
File: LoF121
===
NAME: Sally Greer
DESCRIPTION: The singer's parents "forced me to Americay, my fortune to pursue." As the ship crosses the ocean, he thinks of his beloved Sally Greer. The ship sinks, with only (13) of 350 surviving. The poor survivor hopes to return to Sally
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957
KEYWORDS: separation love emigration disaster wreck
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 92-93, "Sally Greer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 358-359, "Charming Sally Greer" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FMB092 (Partial)
Roud #4084
RECORDINGS:
Martin McManus, "Sally Greer" (on Ontario1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Glasgow" (theme, plus the girl Sally Greer)
NOTES: This song is item dD39 in Laws's Appendix II. It reminds me of Laws K11, "Sally Munroe," but though there are several points of contact, the plot differs somewhat and there do not appear to be common lyrics.
Peacock notes that the various versions give different internal dates: 1833 and 1843. - RBW
File: FMB092
===
NAME: Sally in the Garden
DESCRIPTION: Dance tune with chorus "Sally in the garden sifting sand/Sally upstairs with a hog-eyed man"; floating verses: "Chicken in the bread pan kicking up dough"; "Sally will your dog bite, no sir, no/Daddy cut his biter off a long time ago"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: sex dancing nonballad animal floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 67, "Hog-eye" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 232, "Sal's in the Garden Sifting Sand" (1 fragment)
SharpAp 250, "The Hog-eyed Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 254-255, "Hogeye" (1 text)
Roud #331
RECORDINGS:
Theophilus Hoskins, "Hog Eyed Man" (AFS, 1937; on KMM)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Hogeye" (on NLCR03)
Pope's Arkansas Mountaineers, "Hog Eye" (Victor 21295, 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Roll the Boat Ashore (Hog-eye I)" (many floating verses)
cf. "The Hog-Eye Man" (words)
cf. "Granny Will Your Dog Bite?" (words, part of tune)
NOTES: This is part of a cluster that includes the bawdy song "The Hog-Eye Man," another Arkansas dance tune "Hogeye" ("Row the boat ashore with a hogeye, hogeye/Row the boat ashore with a hogeye man"), "Granny Will Your Dog Bite" and others. I've used the "Sally in the Garden" title to differentiate the dance tune from the bawdy song, even though they're clearly siblings. - PJS
Paul in fact has strongly suggested merging "Sally in the Garden" and "Roll the Boat Ashore (Hog-eye I)." Roud appears to lump the two. There are verses floating freely between both, which means that fragments often cannot be identified with one or the other. Nonetheless, they appear to me to be different though related songs; the choruses are different, and if all the lyrics float, that is decisive.
Still, one should check the cross-references to be sure to find all the versions. - RBW
File: CSW067
===
NAME: Sally Monroe [Laws K11]
DESCRIPTION: Blacksmith Jim Dixon sends a letter to Sally by a friend. The friend deceitfully hides the letter, but Dixon and Sally later meet and are married. They sail for Quebec, but the ship strikes a rock. Sally is drowned. Dixon lives; he grieves for her parents
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1854 (Broadside, Bodleian Harding B 17(272b))
KEYWORDS: courting trick marriage emigration ship wreck death
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) US(MW,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES: (13 citations)
Laws K11, "Sally Monroe"
Doerflinger, pp. 303-304, "Sally Monroe" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H571, p. 441, "Sally Munro" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #74, p. 2, "Sally Munro" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 23, GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Sally Munro" (9 texts, 5 tunes)
Ord, pp. 115-116, "Sally Munro" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 57, "Sally Monroe" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 488-489, "Young Sally Monro" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 36, "Sally Monroe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 88-89, "Sally Munroe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 142-143,253, "Sally Monroe" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 35-36, "Young Sally Munroe" (1 text)
DT 402, SALMUNRO*
Roud #526
RECORDINGS:
Harry Brazil, "Sally Morrow" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 17(272b), "Sally Monro/Munro," unknown (Glasgow), 1854
NLScotland, L.C.178.A.2(211), "Sally Munro," unknown, c. 1830-1850; also RB.m.169(128), "Sally Munro"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Young Sally Monroe
File: LK11
===
NAME: Sally My Dear: see Hares on the Mountain (File: ShH63)
===
NAME: Sally to her Bed Chamber
DESCRIPTION: "Now Sally to her bed chamber this night she made great moan, Saying, 'Jimmie, lovely Jimmie, your pillow is quite alone. How can I rest contented and you so far awa'? Sure I thought I'd lived and died with you in sweet Erin go bragh'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: love separation
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 63, "Sally to her Bed Chamber" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #2758
NOTES: The current description is all of the Creighton-SNewBrunswick fragment.
Creighton-SNewBrunswick: "This is obviously an Irish song of lament for a husband far away." - BS
File: CrSNB063
===
NAME: Sally Walker: see Little Sally Walker (File: CNFM157)
===
NAME: Sally Waters: see Little Sally Walker (File: CNFM157)
===
NAME: Sally Went to Preachin'
DESCRIPTION: 'Sally went to preachin', she shouted and she squalled, She got so full religion she tore her stocking heel." "An a git a long home, nega, nega (x3), I'm bound for Shakletown." "Somebody stole my ol' coon dog...." "I'm gonna get some bricks...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: clothes robbery floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 458, "Sally Went to Preachin'" (1 text)
Roud #11796
NOTES: This reminds me a lot of "Cindy," but it's hard to tell if they are related based on the Brown text. - RBW
File: Br3458
===
NAME: Sally, Let Your Bangs Hang Down
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes former girlfriend Sally; he saw her changing; she caught him peeping. She's run off with Tony. Refr: "Sally, let your bangs hang down"; ch.: "Sally she can land 'em...I'll find out what Sally's got, makes the men think she's so hot"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (recording, Bill Cox & Cliff Hobbs)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer describes Sally, who was his girlfriend, as a hot girl; he saw her changing clothes, but she caught him peeping. She has always left him guessing, and has just run off with Tony. Refrain: "Sally, let your bangs hang down"; ch.: "Sally she can land 'em, she loves 'em and she leaves 'em...I'll find out what Sally's got, makes the men think she's so hot..."
KEYWORDS: jealousy courting sex abandonment bawdy lover clothes
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, SALBANGS
RECORDINGS:
Carlisle Bros. "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang" (Decca 5742, 1939)
Bill Cox & Cliff Hobbs, "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down" (Melotone 7-08-70/Conqueror 8883, 1937; rec. 1936)
Maddox Bros. & Rose, "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down" (4-Star, n.d.)
Sweet Violet Boys, "Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down" (Vocalion 05229, 1939; Columbia 20351/Columbia 37774, 1947)
NOTES: Barely scrapes by as a ballad, but there *is* a narrative there. - PJS
File: RcSLYBHD
===
NAME: Sally, Molly, Polly
DESCRIPTION: Hog-calling chant: "Sally, Molly, Polly, O -- Come on -- git cawn! Little in the basket, more in the crib, Come on -- git cawn!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: food animal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 209, "Sally, Molly, Polly" (1 short text)
File: Br3209
===
NAME: Sally's Cove Tragedy, The
DESCRIPTION: A few days after leaving home, "The rain and fog lay thick all around, the winds did howl and mourn." "Without fire, food, or water in that bitter piercing cold," two boys, Russ and Dennis, die leaving Eli Roberts to mourn.
AUTHOR: George Decker
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: death fishing sea ship ordeal
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 971-972, "The Sally's Cove Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9933
NOTES: I can't find a record of this loss. However, Peacock says Decker claimed to have written this ballad around 1909-1919. An Eli and Susan Roberts were married at Sally's Cove in 1893 [source: Newfoundland & Labrador Gen Web site] so a date of 1909 or 1910 seems reasonable for the incident.
Salley's Cove is on the west coast of Newfoundland in what is now Gros Morne National Park - BS
File: Pea971
===
NAME: Salmon Fishers
DESCRIPTION: "Cam ye by the salmon fishers? Cam ye by the roperee? Saw ye a sailor laddie Sailing on the raging sea?" The girl may describe the sailor she loves, or how they courted, or how they expect to marry
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1898 (Gomme)
KEYWORDS: love courting sailor floatingverses
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 78, "(Cam you by the salmon fishers)" (1 text)
DT, SALMFISH
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #39, "Cam' Ye By" (1 text)
Roud #12978
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Katie Cruel (The Leeboy's Lassie; I Know Where I'm Going)" (lyrics)
NOTES: This is a difficult song to assess. The first stanza has relatively invariant. What follows is not. Several of the other versions (Montgomerie's, Gomme's II) follow this with stanzas straight out of "Katie Cruel/I Know Where I'm Going." Other texts have none of this -- but don't agree particularly closely, either.
Under the circumstances, any song starting with the "Salmon Fishers/Salmon Fishing" stanza must file here, but it must be accepted that any short "I Know Where I'm Going" might be a defective version of this, or of the "Katie Cruel/Leeboy's Lassie" type. - RBW
File: MSNR078
===
NAME: Salonika
DESCRIPTION: "My husband's in Salonika ... I wonder if he knows he has a kid with a foxy head" (;the slackers "puts us in a family way"). When the war's over slackers will have two legs but soldiers a leg and a half. With all the taxes they still can't beat the Hun.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn)
KEYWORDS: war nonballad political
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OCanainn, pp. 60-61, "Salonika" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10513
NOTES: The reference is to the First World War. On September 12, 1915 British and French troops attacked Salonika [Thessaloniki] in Greek Macedonia. (source: _The Irish in Uniform 1915_ The Fame of Tipperary Group at Eircom site); Wikipedia just says "a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and [unsuccessfully] to pressure the Greek government into war against the Central Powers."
A post-war verse: "Now never marry a soldier a sailor or a marine, But keep your eye on the Sinn Fein boy with his yellow white and green" - BS
The Wikipedia citation is somewhat more accurate than the Eircom description. The Salonika landing was not really a attack on the Central Powers; it was the preparation for an attack -- an attack that never came off. It was one of the most inefficient operations of the whole inefficient war.
According to John Keegan, _The First World War_, Knopf, 1998, p. 236, the idea of a landing at Salonika was first suggested in late 1914. But there was no particular need for it at the time -- the idea was to reinforce the Serbs, but the Serbs were doing just fine against the Austrians on their own.
That changed in 1915, when the Germans decided to take care of Serbia. Unlike the Austrians, the Germans were highly efficient. In October 1915, the Salonika invasion gained interest as a way to defend the country where the war had started (see B. H. Liddell Hart, _Liddell Hart's History of the First World War_, the Papermac edition of Liddell Hart's _History of the First World War_, 1970, p. 153). No matter that it mean landing in neutral Greece! (Keegan, p. 255). In all, three French and five British divisions were sent there in 1915 -- too late; Serbia had fallen to a combined attack by the Germans and the Bulgarians (see S. L. A. Marshall, in _The First World War_, American Heritage, 1964,, p. 186). But rather than risk admitting defeat; the troops stayed in Greece, where they were allowed to rot and suffer malaria. Indeed, over the years, they were actually reinforced.
This even though it would have been almost impossible for them to do anything had they wanted to; Marshall, p. 194, notes that "Salonika was an inadequate Greek port with only a single-track rail line running north into Bulgaria. To the logisticians it was perfectly clear that the locality could not support an advancing field army." He adds that "A few troops on the heights can hold back legions. Withal, the Salonika countryside is terribly unhealthy, malaria-ridden, subject to heavy flooding in winter and intense heat in summer. Why the Allies imagined it a pearly gate to opportunity is one of the war's enduring mysteries."
Worthless as the spot was, the "Army of the Orient" sat there until late 1918. There were no enemies to fight, and the invasion force did not cause the Germans to divert troops; a few Bulgarians sufficed to watch over the whole. Allied casualties to disease were ten times those due to combat, and the Germans are said to have called Salonika "the greatest internment camp in the world."
According to James L. Stokesbury, _A Short History of World War I_ (Morrow, 1981), p. 294, "through most of 1916 and 1917, the Allied commanders [in Salonika] had been more occupied with badgering the Greeks than with fighting the Bulgarians"; in 1917, they even forced the abdication of the Greek king. But they still didn't do anything. It wasn't until September 1918, when the Bulgarian and Austrian armies were collapsing, that the troops in Salonika -- Stokesbury says there were 700,000 of them by this time, including Italians and miscellaneous Slavs -- finally moved. Naturally the Bulgarian army collapsed almost without a fight. Bulgaria signed an armistice on September 29. Theoretically, it was a victory for the Allies; in practice, they had wasted a strong army for two years and subjected it to horrid losses. And, because Salonika was so far from England, communications with home were even worse than in the trenches.
I can't help but think that the Salonika farce was the ultimate proof of the bankruptcy of military command in World War I. There was every reason to think a crisis might arise in Serbia -- it was a country with a violent reputation, hated by Austria and supported by the Russians. Anyone with sense could see that it could entangle the Habsburg and Russian empires -- which, given the nature of the alliance system of the time, could bring in Germany and France also. Yet no one thought about how to reinforce Serbia -- even though it was a land-locked country with no direct connections even to Russia, let alone the sea; the only way to reach it from Britain or France (apart from the routes through Austria) was from the Adriatic through Albania, Greece, or Montenegro -- all very difficult routes due to the mountains. Someone should have made up staff plans, and negotiated with the local states, *before* the war began!
The charge of high taxes during the war is certainly true; the conflict broke the economies of every power involved. The real problem for Britain (and France), though, was the absence of competent generals. Germany had an army that was, man for man, better than that of the Allies (and, initially, much larger), and her generals could at least pull off an attack (as they showed by conquering Serbia and Romania). They didn't entirely understand trench warfare, but the Allies never did cease their tendency to assault trenches. The reference to mutilated soldiers is certainly dead-on; millions of women were left widows, and millions more found their husbands and boyfriends blind or maimed or with lungs damaged by gas. - RBW
File: OCan060
===
NAME: Salt Creek Girl, The: see Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl) [Laws C25] (File: LC25)
===
NAME: Salt Horse Song, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer conducts a dialog with an old horse, which has been salted and sent aboard ship. He is not too thrilled about such a diet, but there is little he can do. He proves that it is horsemeat by showing a horseshoe in the meat barrel
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1851 (Journal of John Gorman of the transport ship Minden)
KEYWORDS: dialog horse ship
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Flanders/Olney, p. 226, "The Salt Horse Song"; pp. 226-227, "Old Hoss, Old Hoss" (2 texts, 1 tune)
BrownIII 227, "Old Horse, Old Horse" (1 short text)
Linscott, pp. 142-144, "Old Horse" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 21-22, "Blow the Man Down (V)" (this last text combines the words of "The Salt Horse Song" with the tune & metre of "Blow the Man Down"); p. 160, "The Sailor's Grace" (2 texts, tune referenced)
Hugill, pp. 556-557, "The Sailor's Grace" (3 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 393-394]
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 279-281, "Old Horse" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 44, "Old Hoss" (1 text)
Roud #3724
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Poor Old Man (Poor Old Horse; The Dead Horse)"
cf. "Blow the Man Down" (lyrics)
NOTES: Sailors referred to pickled beef as "salt horse," probably partly because it tasted so bad and partly because they suspected contractors of mixing in the occasional bit of horsemeat. From there it wasn't much of a stretch to this song. - RBW
File: FO226
===
NAME: Saltpetre Shanty (Slav Ho)
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "To ol' Callyo we're bound away, (Slav ho!/Oh Roll!) (repeat) We're bound away from Liverpool bay, them puntas o' Chili will grab our pay. Ch: Oh rooooll, Rock yer bars! Heave 'er high-o, rock 'er, oh, rooooll!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917
KEYWORDS: shanty ship travel
FOUND_IN: Britain
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Colcord, p. 97, "Slav Ho!" (1 short text, 1 tune-quoting Robinson)
Hugill, p. 518, "Saltpetre Shanty" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 377]
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "To the Spanish Main--Slav Ho!" is in Part 4, 8/4/1917
Roud #4692
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Drei Reiter Am Thor" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
Drei Reiter Am Thor (File: Colc096)
NOTES: See also notes to "Drei ritten am Thor." Robinson gives an alternate refrain with imitative Spanish words "Slav Ho! Slavita, vraimentigo slee-ga, Slav Ho!" which Colcord quoted and used to launch her explanation of how one song ends up being a new one. Her supposition being as follows:
Two ships, say, German and British, are moored near each other. The English shantyman hears the German sailors singing an old folk song. He doesn't understand the words, but likes the tune and starts humming or playing it to himself. Then (quoting from Colcord) "he let it lie fallow till some words occurred to him would fit it. Naturally, they concerned the part of the world in which he found himself, and it mattered not at all to him that literary landsfolk reserve the term 'Spanish Main' for an different part of the world altogether. When it came to the chorus, he wanted some good rousing nonsense-syllables, and again he borrowed-this time from the Spanish tongue that he heard daily. The sailor was always immensely tickled by the sound of a foreign, particularly a Latin, language, and was given to clumsy paraphrases of it." - SL
For more on saltpeter, and how it made ports like Callao and Ilo very important, see the notes to "Chamber Lye" and "Tommy's Gone to Hilo." - RBW
File: Colc097
===
NAME: Salty Dog
DESCRIPTION: Floating verses linked by the words "Honey, let me be your salty dog," e.g. "Pulled the trigger and the gun said go/Shot rung over in Mexico"; "Two old maids lyin' in the bed/One turned over to the other and said/You ain't nothin' but my salty dog."
AUTHOR: Probably Charlie Jackson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Papa Charlie Jackson)
KEYWORDS: sex bawdy nonballad floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE,Ap)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 184-185, "Salty Dog Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 79, "Salty Dog" (1 text)
DT, SALTDOG
Roud #11661
RECORDINGS:
Allen Bros., "A New Salty Dog" (Victor 23514, 1931; Bluebird B-5403, 1934; Montgomery Ward M-4750, c. 1945; RCA Victor 20-2132, 1947; on RCA Victor LPV-552 (LP), GoingDown); "Salty Dog, Hey Hey Hey" (Vocalion 02818, 1934); probably also "Salty Dog Blues" (Columbia 15175-D, 1927)
Bo Carter [pseud. for Bo Chatmon] "Be My Salty Dog" (Bluebird B-7968, 1938)
Jimmie Davis, "Davis' Salty Dog" (Victor 23674, 1932)
Papa Charlie Jackson, "Salty Dog Blues" (Paramount 12236, 1924; Broadway 5001 [as Casey Harris], c. 1930)
McGee Brothers, "Salty Dog Blues" (Vocalion 5150, 1927)
Morris Brothers, "Let Me Be Your Salty Dog" (Bluebird B-7967, c. 1938) "Salty Dog Blues" (RCA Victor 20-1783, 1945)
Paramount Pickers, "Salty Dog" (Paramount 12779/Broadway 5069 [as Broadway Pickers], 1929)
Jimmy Revard Oklahoma Cowboys, "Dirty Dog" (Bluebird B-6992, 1937; rec. 1936)
Clara Smith, "Salty Dog" (Columbia 14143-D, 1926)
Stripling Brothers, "Salty Dog" (Decca 5049, 1934)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rigby Johnson Chandler" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Bottle Up and Go" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Step It Up and Go"
cf. "Take Your Fingers Off It"
cf. "Johnny and Jane" (tune)
cf. "Candy Man" (assorted references)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
A New Salty Dog
NOTES: A "salty dog" was a sexual partner. - PJS
In bluegrass circles, this is credited to the Morris Brothers, but the Jackson recording seems to eliminate this possibility. - RBW
Several labels independently credit Jackson as the author. - PJS
File: CSW184
===
NAME: Salutation, The
DESCRIPTION: "Aroun' Pat Murphy's hearth there was music, song, and mirch" when the traveler comes to the door. She announces the news: "The fairy queen intends for to occupy the Glens" and restore prosperity to Ireland. The Irish will always remember home
AUTHOR: Jaes O'Kane
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: home Ireland nonballad gods
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H756, p. 60, "The Salutation" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13366
File: HHH756
===
NAME: Sam Bass [Laws E4]
DESCRIPTION: Sam Bass, a cowpuncher and at first a kind-hearted fellow, turns to train robbery. Betrayed by an acquaintance named Jim Murphy, he is killed by a Texas Ranger
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1888 (Thorp)
KEYWORDS: cowboy death betrayal
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1878 - Death of Sam Bass near Round Rock, Texas
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,Ro,So,SW)
REFERENCES: (17 citations)
Laws E4, "Sam Bass"
Belden, pp. 399-400, "Sam Bass" (1 text plus mention of 2 more)
Randolph 142, "Young Sam Bass" (1 text plus a long excerpt, 1 tune)
Friedman, p. 375, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
Sandburg, pp. 422-424, "Sam Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Thorp/Fife X, pp. 112-120 (24-26), "Sam Bass" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 95, "Sam Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Larkin, pp. 158-161, "Sam Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 81, "Sam Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 126-128, "Sam Bass" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 66, pp. 149-152, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
Burt, pp. 199-200, "Sam Bass" (1 short text)
JHJohnson, pp. 96-98, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 190-191, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 196, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
Saffel-CowboyP, p. 204-205, "Sam Bass" (1 text)
DT 621, SAMBASS*
Roud #2244
RECORDINGS:
Harry "Mac" McClintock, "Sam Bass" (Victor 21420, 1928; on AuthCowboys, WhenIWas1)
Marc Williams, "Sam Bass" (Brunswick 304, 1929; rec. 1928)
NOTES: Report has it that Bass had his shootout with the police on July 20, 1878; he was captured the next day and died the day after. That July 22 is said to have been his 27th birthday.
This song has been attributed (e.g. by Thorpe) to a John Denton of Gainesville, Texas, and supposedly written in 1879, but most scholars think that multiple hands have been involved. - RBW
File: LE04
===
NAME: Sam Cooper
DESCRIPTION: Sam Cooper is "up for a crime," "handcuffed and caught on the house on the hill," tried in Timmum, then Wexford, then Enniscorthy and "they couldn't find me guilty on every degree." He sings, "I'll make this Lar' now repent now for all he has done"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1985 (IRTravellers01)
KEYWORDS: crime manhunt trial
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #16726
RECORDINGS:
Bill Cassidy, "Sam Cooper" (on IRTravellers01)
NOTES: Jim Carroll's notes to IRTravellers01: "It appears to have been exclusive to travellers. We recorded it from three different singers and in each case they told us that Sam Cooper was arrested for stealing oats, though this is not mentioned in any of the versions. They also said he was guilty as charged."
Timmum [Taghmon], Wexford and Enniscorthy are all in Co. Wexford. - BS
File: RcSamCoo
===
NAME: Sam Griffith
DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams of seeing "Sam Griffith with a darky for a mate." Sam begs for a drink, claiming the squatters don't like a union man. The singer abuses him for his hypocrisy. Sam leaps to the attack; the singer wakes up
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1953
KEYWORDS: work fight dream discrimination
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 25-27, "Sam Griffith" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA025
===
NAME: Sam Hall (Jack Hall) [Laws L5]
DESCRIPTION: (Sam Hall), about to be hanged, bitterly tells his tale, spitting curses all the while -- directing them at the parson, the sheriff, his girlfriend, and the spectators. He is guilty of killing a man, and goes to the gallows still blazing away
AUTHOR: C. W. Ross
EARLIEST_DATE: 1719
KEYWORDS: curse execution gallows-confession prisoner punishment
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1701 - Execution of Jack Hall, a young London chimney sweep, on a charge of burglary. His "last goodnight" hawked about as a broadside eventually became the blasphemous "Sam Hall."
FOUND_IN: Australia US(Ap,NE,SE,SW) Britain(England(All)) New Zealand
REFERENCES: (11 citations)
Laws L5, "Sam Hall"
Friedman, p. 223, "Sam Hall" (1 text+1 fragment, 1 tune)
Cray, pp. 43-48, "Sam Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 117, "Sam Hall" (1 text)
Sharp-100E 81, "Jack Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 96-97, "Jack Hall" (1 text)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 133-134, "Sam Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 322, "Jack Hall" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 102-103, "Jack Hall"; "Sam Hall" (1 text plus a fragment)
Silber-FSWB, p. 69, "Sam Hall"; p. 200, "Ballad Of Sam Hall" (2 texts)
DT 420, SAMHALL (TALLOCAN)
Roud #369
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "Ethan Lang" (c. 1930; on RoughWays2)
Walter Pardon, "Jack Hall" (on Voice17)
Tex Ritter, "Sam Hall" (Decca 5076, 1935)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1849), "Jack the Chimney Sweep" ("My name it is Jack All chimney sweep chimney sweep"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(2840), Harding B 11(2841), "Jack the Chimney Sweep"; Harding B 15(145a), "Jack Hall"; Harding B 20(27), "Sam Hall Chimney Sweep"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sam MacColl's Song" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Samuel Hall
NOTES: _Pills to Purge Melancholy_ includes new words set to the tune of "Chimney-Sweep," recognizably "Jack Hall." Therefore the song must have already been in circulation by that time, 1719. -PJS
There is also a book, _Memoirs of the Right Villanous Jack Hall_, a tale of a highwayman, published 1708. I know nothing of the book except its title and that it devotes some time to describing Newgate Prison. - RBW
File: LL05
===
NAME: Sam Holt
DESCRIPTION: The singer reminds Sam Holt of the various events of his life: "Oh, don't you remember Black Alice, Sam Holt... [with] teeth like a Moreton Bay shark...." Stories about Sam's courtship amid ants, his cheating and cards, his mining fortune, and his travels
AUTHOR: "Ironbar" Gibson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_)
KEYWORDS: rambling cards courting Australia
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 98-99, "Sam Holt" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 138-141, "Sam Holt" (1 text)
Roud #9097
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Ben Bolt" (tune & meter)
NOTES: Patterson/Fahey/Seal credits this to "Ironbar" Gibson, but does not document the source of this claim. Whoever wrote it clearly based it on "Ben Bolt." - RBW
File: FaE098
===
NAME: Sam MacColl's Song
DESCRIPTION: MacColl, whose penis is so large there is no room for a scrotum, boasts he services the girls until they weary, then tires horses, cows and sheep.
AUTHOR: Attributed to Jim Tully
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 ("Immortalia")
KEYWORDS: bawdy bragging humorous lie
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 48-49, "Sam MacColl's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10177
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sam Hall (Jack Hall)" [Laws L5] (tune)
File: EM048
===
NAME: Sam, Sam, Dirty Old Man: see The Wee Falorie Man (File: Hamm013)
===
NAME: Sam's "Waiting for a Train": see Ten Thousand Miles Away from Home (A Wild and Reckless Hobo; The Railroad Bum) [Laws H2] (File: LH02)
===
NAME: Samaritan Woman, The: see The Maid and the Palmer [Child 21] (File: C021)
===
NAME: Same House As Me, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer claims that "Many a man... would hang [himself] up... If [he] had half as much trouble as me." He and his wife have a young girl as a lodger; one night, coming home drunk from a concert, the singer goes to sleep in her bed. Mayhem follows.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987
KEYWORDS: husband wife drink adultery humorous
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 269-270, "The Same House As Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MCB269
===
NAME: Same Train: see This Train (File: LoF255)
===
NAME: Sampanmadchen, Das (The Sampan Maiden)
DESCRIPTION: German or Swedish shanty. Pidgin English (or in this case, pidgin German), nonsense verses - "I no likie you-hou, you no-ho likie me-hie". Versions of this were to be found in several languages. Chorus of even more nonsensical syllables.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Baltzer, _Knurrhahn_)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty nonsense China
FOUND_IN: Germany Sweden
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 569-570, "Das Sampanmadchen," "En Sjomansvisa Fran Kinakusten" (4 texts-German, Swedish, and English, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Chinee Bumboatman" (some similar verses)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
En Sjomansvisa Fran Kinakusten" (A Sailor's Song from the China Coast)
File: Hugi569
===
NAME: Samson: see Samson and Delilah (File: LoF251)
===
NAME: Samson and Delilah
DESCRIPTION: "Delilah was a woman, fine and fair, Very pleasant looks and coal black hair... If I had my way I'd tear the building down." Delilah tricks Samson out of the secret of his strength; he is captured, but manages to tear the building down.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Rev. T. E. Weems)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious death hair trick lie
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Lomax-FSNA 251, "Samson" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 49-50, "(If I Had My Way)" (1 text)
Roud #6700
RECORDINGS:
Blind Willie Johnson, "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down" (Columbia 14343-D, 1928; Vocalion 03021, 1935; rec. 1927)
Celina Lewis, "Session with Celina Lewis" (on NFMAla6)
Rev. T. E. Weems, "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down" (Columbia 14254-D, 1927)
NOTES: Most of this story is Biblically accurate. The story of Samson occupies chapters 13-16 of Judges. We may categorize:
* Delilah's beauty (not mentioned; we are only told that Samson loved her; see 16:4)
* Samson's birth: A miraculous event described in chapter 13
* "Strongest man that ever lived on earth": not explicit, but tales of his strength fill most of chapters 14-16
* "He killed three thousand Philistines": No such number is given. We read in 14:19 that he killed 30, in 15:15 of another thousand, etc., and in 16:30 that he killed more by knocking down the building than he had in life.
* The dead lion and the bees: 14:6, 8f.
* "They bound him with a rope" (first occurrence): 15:13
* The old jawbone, etc.: 15:15f.
* Samson told her, "Shave off my hair": 16:17
* "His strength became like a natural man": 16:19
* The final incident, where the blinded Samson is displayed before the Philistines, but has his revenge by pulling the building down on them, is told in 16:23-30. - RBW
File: LoF251
===
NAME: Samuel Allen [Laws C10]
DESCRIPTION: Samuel Allen is examining a rolling dam on the Rocky Brook. The dam falls apart, and Allen is drowned
AUTHOR: John Calhoun of Bouestown (1848-1939) (per Ives-NewBrunswickm Manny/Wilson)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: logger death drowning
FOUND_IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Laws C10, "Samuel Allen"
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 49-53, "Rocky Brook" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 40, "Rocky Brook" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 716, SAMALLEN
Roud #1944
File: LC10
===
NAME: Samuel Hall: see Captain Kidd [Laws K35] (File: LK35)
===
NAME: Samuel Young
DESCRIPTION: Samuel Young, of Kentucky, is courting a girl against the wishes of her father; he arranges to have him sent to the Mexican War. He gets as far as Monterey when he takes sick and dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: disease grief courting army war parting separation father lover
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SharpAp 192, "Samuel Young" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SAMYOUNG*
NOTES: The theme of the father having his daughter's unwelcome suitor sent away, pressed into the army, etc., is of course common, but this is one of the few songs in which she doesn't follow him, and he does not return to claim the daughter/fight the father. It doesn't seem to overlap other songs, and I'd guess it was composed by a friend or relative of the fallen soldier. The part of North Carolina where the song was collected is not far from Kentucky. - PJS
The song is definitely curious, since the Mexican War did not involve a military draft. Perhaps the father demanded that the young man join the army as a condition for marrying his daughter?
Given the appalling sanitary conditions in armies of this period, it's no surprise that he died of disease.
I strongly suspect the song is modeled on something else. The words make me think of "The Suffolk Miracle," though the tune is close to "Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie."
The song is item dA34 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: ShAp2192
===
NAME: Sandgate Lass on the Ropery Banks, The
DESCRIPTION: "On the Ropery Banks Jenny was sittin'... And hearty I heard this lass singin' -- My bonny keel lad shall be mine." She is knitting the stockings she promised him. She recalls meeting him, and looks forward to bearing his children
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: love courting children clothes
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 184-185, "The Sandgate Lass on the Ropery Banks" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR184 (Partial)
Roud #3178
NOTES: For some reason, this reminds me very strongly of "Bring Back My Johnny to Me." But I can't point to common elements. - RBW
File: StoR184
===
NAME: Sandgate Lass's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: "I was a young maiden truly, And liv'd in Sandgate Street; I thought to marry a good man... But last I married a keelman, And my good days are done." The girl lists all the men she thought of marrying, and then contrasts her ill-formed, evil keelman
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: marriage abuse lament work
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 162-163, "The Sandgate Lass's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR162 (Full)
Roud #3170
NOTES: A keelman is not one who is involved in shipbuilding but, I believe, one who keels cloth -- marks it for cutting. It is interesting to note that "to keel" also has been used to mean "to mark down as worthy of contempt." So this may be a pun, or it might be simply that the singer has a truly low opinion of her husband. - RBW
File: StoR162
===
NAME: Sandy and Donald: see Crafty Wee Bony (File: GrD1151)
===
NAME: Sandy and Nap
DESCRIPTION: Napoleon and the Tsar quarrel. When Bony had raised his army Sandy warns Bony against attacking. Bony rejects the warning. At Moscow Bony told his starving men biscuits and brandy were near but saw them burnt. Bony escapes the Cossacks and frost.
AUTHOR: William Lillie (source: Greig)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (William Walker, _Bards of Bon-Accord 1375-1860_, according to GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: war fire Russia humorous Napoleon soldier food
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #53, pp. 1-2, "'The Twa Emperors' or 'Sandy and Nap'" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 149, "Sandy and Nap" (6 texts, 3 tunes)
Roud #2874
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Twa Emperors
The Siege of Moscow
NOTES: Greig: "This piece refers of course to Napoleon's Russian campaign of 1812 -- his invasion of that country, the burning of Moscow by the Russians themselves, and the disastrous retreat of the French army."
Greig, writing in 1908: "The first appearance of the song in print was in the columns of a contemporary between forty and fifty years ago, when it was given as the composition of 'the late William Lillie, Inverugie." - BS
File: GrD1149
===
NAME: Sandy Boy, De
DESCRIPTION: Shanty, negro origin. Singer is going down a river when a shark eats his boat. He travels from place to place looking for more boats, but the shark keeps showing up. Other verses have rhymes about girls.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1935 (Sternvall, _Sang under Segel_)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Shanty, negro origin. Singer is going down a river when a shark eats his boat. He travels from place to place looking for more boats, but the shark keeps showing up. Other verses have rhymes about girls. Typical verses would be: "When I went down to New Orleans to see de boatman row, I set myself down on a rock an' played the old banjo." "Then I went to Alo, to buy a little goat, The ole shark came behind us a swallowed down the boat." Chorus: "Do come along, my Sandy boy, Do come along, oh, do! What will Uncle Gabriel say? Oh, Sally, can't you too?"
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor river ship
FOUND_IN: US(SE) West Indies
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, p. 458-460, "De Sandy Boy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
File: Hugi458
===
NAME: Sandy Lan': see Great Big Taters in Sandy Land (File: LxA236)
===
NAME: Sandy's a Sailor
DESCRIPTION: Sandy is a sailor. He is paid Saturday and spends it on drink. Sunday at church "he takes the button off his shirt and he puts it on the plate." You'll not find him at his ship but in the bar drinking gin.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (recording, Lizzie Higgins)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad sailor
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #12924
RECORDINGS:
Lizzie Higgins, "Sandy's a Sailor" (on Voice02)
File: RcSanASa
===
NAME: Sandy's Mill
DESCRIPTION: "Sandy had a nice little mill." "Sandy, quo he, Lend me your mill!" "Sandy lent the man his mill, And the man got a loan of Sandy's mill, And the mill that was lent was Sandy's mill, An the mill belonged to Sandy."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964 (Montgomerie)
KEYWORDS:
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 177, "('Sandy,' quo he, lend me your mill!')" (1 short text)
Roud #2875
File: MSNR177
===
NAME: Sandy's Wooing
DESCRIPTION: Sandy asks Jenny to marry him. She hesitates, pointing out examples of girls who have been betrayed and abandoned by men, perhaps for money. He says that he doesn't need riches; she agrees to marry him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage money
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H239, p. 469, "Sandy's Wooing" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9455
File: HHH239
===
NAME: Sans Day Carol: see The Holly Bears a Berry (File: K091)
===
NAME: Santa Ana: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santa Anna: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santa Barbara Earthquake, The
DESCRIPTION: "Way out in California, among the hills so tall, Stands the town of Santa Barbara." Around daybreak, "the hills began to sway." Women and children scream; the people pray. The conclusion: "It's just another warning, From God up in the sky."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Henry, collected from Mary E. King)
KEYWORDS: disaster warning
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 28, 1925 - the Santa Barbara Earthquake
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 86-87, "The Santa Barbara Earthquake" (1 text)
Roud #4752
NOTES: There are several earthquakes on record affecting Santa Barbara, California, the earliest being in 1806, when it was little more than a mission in what was then Mexico.
It seems clear, however, that this song refers to the earthquake of June 1925, which was quite recent at the time this song was first collected. (I would bet a lot that there was a 78 recording of this song, though I haven't located it. According to the _Old-Time Herald_, Volume 11, #10, April-May 2009, p. 28, Bascom Lamar Lunsford on August 27, 1925 recorded "The Fate of Santa Barbara," but I don't know if that is this song.)
The earthquake has been estimated at 6.3 on the Richter scale. As the song says, it happened around dawn, before the workday started -- which was very fortunate, since damage in the large buildings of the commercial district was severe, but most of the houses suffered relatively slight damage. Casualties, as a result, were slight -- only thirteen people killed. They probably would have been worse had workers been crowded into the (large, hard-to-escape) commercial buildings.
The garbage at the end makes me wonder if the song isn't by Andrew Jenkins; it has something of his style, and the earthquake happened in the period when he was writing a lot of topical songs, sometimes by invitation of record executives. The author declares that the earthquake was a warning. A warning of what? Lousy songwriters? - RBW
File: MHAp087
===
NAME: Santa Fe Trail, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer asks, "Say, pard, have you sighted a schooner Way out on the Santa Fe Trail?" In the company is "A little tow-headed gal on a pinto" whom he very much wishes to see. He describes her, though he will not give her name
AUTHOR: Words: James Grafton Rogers/Music: J. H. Gower
EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: cowboy travel separation
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ohrlin-HBT 85, "'Longside of the Santa Fe Trail" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5096
RECORDINGS:
Jules [Verne] Allen, "Longside The Santa Fe Trail" Victor V-40118, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4344, 1933; Montgomery Ward M-4780, 1935; on WhenIWas1)
Glenn Ohrlin, "Santa Fe Trail" (on Ohrlin01)
Art Thieme, "The Santa Fe Trail" (on Thieme03)
The Westerners [Massey Family], "Santa Fe Trail" (Perfect 6-03-58/Melotone 6-03-58, 1936)
NOTES: Although the sheet music of this piece was published in 1911, it seems that almost every version in tradition (even pop tradition) derives from Jules Verne Allen's 1929 recording. - RBW
File: Ohr085
===
NAME: Santiana: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santianna: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santy Ana: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santy Anna: see Santy Anno (File: Doe078)
===
NAME: Santy Anno
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic lines: "Heave Away/Hooray, Santy Anno/Anna... All on the plains of Mexico." The body of the song devotes itself to the Mexican War and/or the California Gold Rush and the sailor's desire to get married and participate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906
KEYWORDS: shanty battle Mexico gold
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Apr 24, 1846 - skirmish between U.S. and Mexican forces in an area of Texas generally regarded as belonging to Mexico. On April 26, General Zachary Taylor reports to President James K. Polk that "hostilities may now be considered as commenced."
May 3 - Mexicans attack Taylor's position at Fort Texas. Taylor moves to the rescue
May 8 - Taylor wins a minor battle at Palo Alto against a superior Mexican force
May 9 - Taylor defeats the retreating Mexicans at Resaca de la Palma
May 13 - War declared with Mexico
May 18 - Taylor crosses the Rio Grande and occupies Matamoros
June 14 - American settlers in California declare independence from Mexico. American forces under John C. Fremont and John Sloat arrive to support them. Stephen Kearney moves to take over the lands between California and Texas
Aug 17 - David Stockton formally annexes California for the United States and assumes the role of governor
Sept 14 - Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who as president of Mexico had lost Texas, takes command of the Mexican army
Sept 20-24 - Taylor captures Monterrey, Mexico after a bloody battle
Nov 16 - Taylor captures Saltillo
Nov 25 - Kearney, now governor of California, begins a campaign to drive the Mexicans under Flores out of southern California. He secures the entire state by Jan 10, 1847
Jan 3, 1847 - General Winfield Scott assumes command in Mexico, superseding Taylor
Feb 5 - Taylor, at odds with the administration and Scott, moves west
Feb 22-23 - Santa Anna confronts Taylor's 5000 men with 15000 and demands surrender. Taylor refuses, then beats Santa Anna at the battle of Buena Vista
Mar 9 - Scott lands at Vera Cruz to begin a campaign against Mexico CIty
April 18 - Scott defeats Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo
Sept 14 - After many minor battles, Scott captures Mexico City
Feb 2, 1848 - Treaty of Gaudalupe Hidalgo ends the war between the U.S. and Mexico, with the U.S. gaining most of what is now Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah (the remainder is acquired via the Gadsden Purchase of 1853), plus portions of other states
Nov 7 - Zachary Taylor elected President as a Whig
July 9, 1850 - After a disappointing fifteen months in office, Taylor dies and is succeeded by Millard Fillmore
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 78-80, "Santy Anna" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 40-41, "Santa Anna" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bone, pp. 129-130, "Santy Ana" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, pp. 84-85, "Santy Anna" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 40-41, "Santa Ana (On the Plains of Mexico)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 82-87, "Santiana," "The Plains of Mexico," "Round the Bay of Mexico" (5 texts, some short and very mixed, 4 tunes) [AbEd, pp.76-80]
Robinson/Bellman, Pt.3, 7/28/1917, "Santa Anna" (1 text-fragment only, 1 tune)
Sharp-EFC, I, p.2, "Santy Anna" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 79, "Santa Anna or The Plains of Mexico" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 186-187, "Santy Anno" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 40, "Santy Anno" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 26, "Santy Anno" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 835, "Santy Anna" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H496, pp. 96-97, "Santy Anna" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 27, "On the Plains of Mexico" (1 text)
Mackenzie 99, "Santy Anna" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, p. 314, "Santa Anna" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 95, "Santy Anno" (1 text)
DT, SNTYANNA* SNTYANN2
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). A fragment of "Santa Anna" is in Part 3, 7/28/1917.
Roud #207
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Carry Him To the Burying Ground (General Taylor, Walk Him Along Johnny)" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Santiana
The Plains of Mexico
Old Santy Ana
NOTES: For references, see the Bibliography at the end of this note.
According to Wheelan, p. 41, "The amazing career of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is so entwined with the early years of Texas and Mexico that it is impossible to tell their history without telling his. Born in 1794 in upland Jalapa into a venerable Spanish Castillian family, Antonio was a quarrelsome boy who matured into a fractious, luxury-loving man. Unquestionably courageous, he was also elegant and charming. His favorite amusements were... gambling, cockfighting, an dancing. He was ambitious, opportunistic, crafty, and egotistical."
Or how about this description from DeVoto, pp. 68-69, "Santa Anna is the set piece of Mexican history, complete with rockets, pinwheels, Greek fire, and aerial bombs. He had been president of Mexico, dictator, commander in chief, much too often and too variously for specification here. He had contrived to persuade a good many different factions that he was their soul, and never betrayed any of them till he had got their funds.... He had the national genius for oratory and manifesto, and a genius of his own for courage, cowardice, inspiration, and magnificent graft. [Since the Texas War for Independence,] he had procured further revolutions at home, had lost a leg defending his country against a French invasion, had established a new dictatorship, and had been overthrown by the uprising that put Herrera in power. His impeachment for treason and his banishment had followed."
Looking at his portrait in Wheelan, I can't help but think how much he looks like Adolf Hitler minus the mustache. And, indeed, he had a lot of the same traits, including clawing his way to power and then biting off more than he could chew.
Plus being utterly brutal. It showed in his treatment of Texas. Mexico had allowed American colonists into the area on conditions: They needed to be Catholic and not hold slaves (Wheelan, p. 43). Unfortunately, the Mexicans winked their eyes at slavery while trying to genuinely exclude Protestants. Eventually, when the Mexican government became strict about imposing its rule, the Americans decided they wanted out.
The result was the successful Texas rebellion. In which Santa Anna was the chief Mexican general. He had an army of five thousand "conscripts and prison inmates" (Wheelan, p. 46), with which he took the Alamo, and slaughtered the defenders, then captured and slaughtered the garrison of Goliad (Wheelan, p. 47). Then, on April 21, 1836, Sam Houston's Texans routed the Mexican army at San Jacinto, capturing the general the next day (Wheelan, p. 48). Santa Anna saved his skin by giving the Texans independence, but of course his government could not withstand the blow.
The Mexican government never did really accept that Texas was independent. DeVoto, pp. 12-13, writes, "[I]t is a fundamental mistake to think of Mexico, in this period, or for many years before, as a republic or even a government. It must be understood as a late stage in the breakdown of the Spanish Empire. Throughout that time it was never able to establish a stability, whether social or political.... [N]o governing class arose, or even a political party, but only some gangs. Sometimes the gangs were captained by intelligent and capable men, sometimes for a while they stood for the merchants, the clergy, the landowners, or various programs of reform, but they all came down in the end to simple plunder."
Given that situation, border raiding was constant. In one of those border raids, Santa Anna captured a large force of Texas raiders -- and ordered every eleventh man shot, choosing the victims at random by having them pull white and black beans from a jar (Wheelan, p. 51).
Eventually the Mexicans got rid of Santa Anna, but the squabbles over Texas never ended. (This was to prove most unfortunate. Had Mexico recognized Texas independence, Britain and France would probably have guaranteed it, the United States would not have annexed Texas, and Mexico presumably would have kept California. Morison, p. 554, writes, "More sense of reality and less of prestige at Mexico City in 1844 might have changed the entire course of American expansion." But Mexico City had neither.)
DeVoto, p. 11, makes an interesting comparison to the Sudetenland. The parallels are there: Just as the Sudetenland had never been part of Germany proper (before the independence of Czechoslovakia, it was part of the Habsburg Empire), so Texas had never been part of the United States. But just as the Sudetenland was full of Germans who wanted to join Germany, so Texas was full of Americans at least open to joining the United States.
For, while Texas was independent, it was also sparsely populated and bankrupt. Various solutions were proposed -- there was actually a British idea of guaranteeing Texas independence if it would free its slaves (Morison, p. 554; Wheelan, p. 58). But the obvious answer was for Texas to join the United States.
This was more complicated than it sounded; President John Tyler tried get a treaty (actually, two different treaties) annexing Texas through the Senate, but could not command a two-thirds majority. He managed to pull it off at the very end of his term (after the 1844 election) by joint resolution of Congress (which required only a simple majority; Morison, p. 556).
The always-shaky Mexican government couldn't face this. It did not dare to admit that it had lost Texas, so naturally it could not admit that Texas had joined the United States. Their bluster might have worked against one of the weak American presidents of the 1850s. Unfortunately for Mexico, the new President was James K. Polk.
Polk was one of the most complex Presidents in American history -- literally; historians can't even agree on his legacy. I can't cite a source, because it was so long ago, but some time around the Reagan administration, a poll was taken among historians to determine the ten best and worst American presidents. Polk was the only president to make *both* lists.
He was a driven man. A sickly youngster, he was diagnosed at age 17 with urinary stones, and was subjected to an emergency operation without anesthetic to remove them; the operation in all likelihood left him sterile (Seigenthaler, p. 19). He had only the sketchiest of education in his early years, and grew up in a situation of religious controversy (Seigenthaler, pp. 12-13). The family came to be obsessed with obtaining as much property as possible (Seigenthaler, p. 17). It was a trait Polk would carry to an extreme; no other President except Thomas Jefferson acquired so much land for the United States, and there were no others who acquired so much by such vigorous means.
His methods were hardly the most honest; his enemies labelled him "Polk the Mendacious" (Wheelan, p. 54). And Seigenthaler, despite seeming to admire Polk overall, points up evidence of his deceptions, admitting that, to Polk, the end justified the means (pp. 100-101).
DeVoto, pp. 7-8, sums him up this way: "Polk's mind was rigid, narrow, obstinate, far from first-rate. He sincerely believed that only Democrats were truly American.... He was pompous, suspicious, and secretive; he had no humor; he could be vindictive; and he saw spooks and villains.... But if his mind was narrow it was also powerful and he had guts. If he was orthodox, his integrity was absolute and he could not be scared, manipulated, or brought to heel. No one bluffed him, no one moved him with direct or oblique pressure. Furthermore, he know how to get things one. He came into office with clear ideas and a fixed determination and he was to stand by them...."
On p. 201, in explaining why the American troops in the Mexican war were treated so badly, DeVoto adds, "He had no understanding of war, its needs, its patterns, or its results. The truth is that he did not understand any results except immediate ones." But he was very good at getting immediate results.
Polk made a career mostly as an ally of Andrew Jackson, who created his own controversies and was, if anything, even more prejudiced than Polk. (It is a bit ironic, in the face of current American politics, that Polk -- probably the most conservative America-is-always-right man of his generation -- was a near-agnostic who was not baptized until he was dying. The man who brought the conservative state of Texas into the Union could not possibly be supported by a Texas delegation today. Nor was he much of a glad-handler in the modern sense; he disliked social engagements and, once in office, rarely left the White House; Seigenthaler, p. 103; Wheelan, p. 54. He would very nearly work himself to death as President. Seigenthaler, p. 119, in summing up the notes he kept as President, calls him "brooding and humorless.... Sometimes he presents himself as demanding to the point of unreasonableness, determined to the point of stubbornness, self-righteous to the point of paranoia.... More than anything else, he comes across as intensely partisan, at times blindly so.")
As Speaker of the House, Polk had run that organization like clockwork. He had then gone on to serve as Tennessee governor 1839-1841, but was defeated in his attempts to run for re-election (DeGregorio, pp. 166-167).
Polk's path to becoming leader of his country was more legal than Santa Anna's, but only slightly less peculiar. Martin Van Buren had been voted out of office in 1840, just as Polk had been ousted from the Tennessee governorship, but was expected to run again in 1844. Polk had presidential ambitions, but for the moment, he just wanted to be Van Buren's vice president.
But several funny things happened on the way to the convention. For starters, Van Buren and the likely Whig nominee, Henry Clay, had published on the very same day similar announcements saying they did not stand for annexation of Texas (Seigenthaler, p. 76). To this day, it is not certain if they had agreed on this, or if they did it independently -- but it was widely thought that they had made an agreement. And the American people, firm believers in Manifest Destiny, wanted Texas. Clay still managed to become the Whig nominee. But it cost Van Buren. There were two main candidates going into the 1844 convention: Van Buren, and Lewis Cass. Van Buren had a majority of delegates on the first ballot, but the convention had adopted a two-thirds rule, and Van Buren never came close to that (Seigenthaler, p. 83). Polk didn't start getting votes until the eighth ballot, but once he had started, Polk's operators carefully manipulated the convention, and it became a bandwagon; he was nominated on the very next ballot. Polk, as a result, became the first "dark horse" presidential candidate -- though we should note that he was far better known nationally than such recent nominees as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
The campaign which followed was pretty ugly -- e.g., though both candidates were slaveowners, Polk was accused (falsely) of branding his slaves (Seigenthaler, p. 96). And Clay made rather a hash of things, being very inconsistent in his utterances on topics such as Texas.
Unknown or not, slaveowner or not, Polk won -- if just barely; his margin in the popular vote was some 38,000 out of two and a half million ballots cast. As usual, the margin in the electoral college was much more decisive (Seigenthaler, pp. 98-99). And "probably no other President entered office with so clearly defined a program and accomplished so much of it as Polk (Current/Williams/Freidel, p. 364)
This was the man against whom the fragile Mexican government tried to negotiate. Or, rather, tried not to negotiate. It rejected Polk's attempts to buy California. Polk can't have been too unhappy; he was actually sending different teams with different instructions to various places to muddy the waters (Wheelan, p. 55).
Then, at the end of 1845, the Mexican government of President Herrera was overthrown by General Paredes (Morison, p. 560). The new government was no more willing to recognize the annexation of Texas than the old was willing to recognize its independence.
To make the whole situation worse, Polk wanted to annex not just the portion of Texas east of the Nueces (the part that was unquestionably independent) but greater Texas (all the way to the Rio Grande) and California (which not even the most arrogant Texan had claimed. Polk in fact made the absurd claim that Texas has always been a proper part of the United States! (Here again we see the analogy to the Sudetenland -- Texas was, in effect, the entering wedge.)
So Polk, in order to "ensure that Mexico [would] not" go to war, sent 3000 men under Zachary Taylor to Texas (Wheelan, p. 60). And Polk ordered General Taylor to cross the Nueces (the recognized border between Texas and Mexico, insofar as there was one). Initially he based himself at Corpus Christi, at the mouth of the Nueces, putting him just south of the border (DeVoto, p. 28). Then Polk pushed harder, ordering Taylor to head for the Rio Grande (Wheelan, p. 63).
So disorganized was Taylor's force that it took him a month to get moving (DeVoto, p. 105), and there was much squabbling among the Americans along the way; amazingly, in all their time in camp, they had not practiced maneuvering together (DeVoto, p. 107). But they finally arrived. Faced with that provocation, the Mexicans decided to fight.
There was no single incident which could be called "the first shot"; there had been some small skirmishing starting almost from the moment Taylor reached the Rio Grande. But on April 25, Taylor sent out a small force of horsemen on a reconaissance. This force managed to blunder its way into a fight and was overwhelmed (DeVoto, pp. 130-131), and from then on it was a full-blown shooting war.
This was rather fortunate for Polk; he had been preparing to declare war on Mexico without an incident, and it looked as if Congress might not consent. But he quickly gained a declaration of war after the shooting started (DeVoto, p. 184ff.) -- even though he had to undercut Secretary of State Buchanan, who wanted to avoid making any territorial claims (DeVoto, p. 187, who thinks this was one of Buchanan's periodic attempts to ensure his presidential nomination. Which failed, of course).
Most versions of this song credit Santa Anna with defeating Zachary Taylor, but -- as the historical record shows -- Taylor consistently beat the Mexicans, though some of the victories were expensive.
Although Taylor fought many battles in the Mexican campaign, few were against Santa Anna. Mexico at this time was anything but a stable nation. Santa Anna had been President of Mexico in 1836, when Texas rebelled, but had then been thrown out after the Texans won their battle for independence.
Most modern historians seem less than impressed with Taylor as a general, but, at age 61, he had been in the army for 37 years, having been commissioned in 1808 (Wheelan, p. 61). Despite a limited education (Wheelan, p. 62), he had fought bravely and risen steadily in the ranks while displaying a real concern for his men. Against a strong general, he might have been in trouble -- after all, his logistics were so bad that some of his soldiers actually suffered from scurvy! (DeVoto, p. 15) -- but against the rabble that formed the Mexican army, his steadiness was a great advantage.
(As DeVoto says on p. 189, Taylor "had no patience with textbook soldiers.... Well, what did he have? A sound priniple: attack. A less valuable one which would serve him just as well in this war: never retreat. Total ignorance of the art of war. And an instinct, if not for command, at least for leadership.")
The first battle of the war was at Resaca de la Palma. The Mexican general Arista had planned a maneuver to put him on Taylor's line of communication, but when it came to battle, he found that his ill-equiped conscripts just couldn't fight. Taylor's men fought in place, and eventually the Mexicans retreated (DeVoto, pp. 188-191). The next day, the armies met again, and after a hard slog in which neither general exercised much control, the ill-fed Mexicans broke (DeVoto, p. 192, who notes that in some ways the most important thing about this battle was the number of future Civil War generals who saw combat for the first time. One of them was U. S. Grant).
It wasn't quite what Polk wanted; he still hoped to take California by purchase or local revolution; DeVoto, p. 197, comments that "Mr. Polk had lighted a firecracker and had a bomb explode in his face." But at least he was able to adapt. He started to build up the United States army (though he did nothing to produce a genuinely professional force; DeVoto, pp. 198-199, notes how every officer in one regiment was a political appointee and confesses that at this time "out military system was the worst possible" and could not have succeeded against a stronger enemy than Mexico).
Given limited reinforcements, Taylor would win several more minor victories on the scale of Resaca de la Palma. He became very popular as a result, leaving Polk worried about his political influence (quite correctly, since Taylor, a Whig, would follow the Democrat Polk as President). Polk put Winfield Scott in charge of a second Mexican expedition (Morison, p. 563), and it was Scott who eventually took Mexico City (as DeVoto writes, p. 200, Scott's "egotism was colossal, his vanity was monstrous.... But he was a great soldier. The campaign he was permitted to make was brilliant and victorious. He won the war").
In any case, Polk had had another string for his bow. He also overthrew the Mexican government, helping Santa Anna return to Mexico in September 1846 (an agent for Santa Anna had promised to bring stability to Mexico for a price; Polk accepted the deal even though he distrusted the messenger; see DeVoto, p. 69). The former Mexican president promptly resumed power (as Morison tartly comments on p. 560, revolutions in Mexico at this time were just about certain to succeed).
To make Scott's expedition strong enough to make its amphibious assault, Polk had cut back Taylor's force, ordering it onto the defensive (see Current/Williams/Freidel, p. 375). Santa Anna, seeing an opportunity (and needing a victory to strengthen his government), tried to improve his reputation by attacking Taylor at Buena Vista. It was a close thing, but Santa Anna failed to destroy Taylor. He had little choice but to turn back to try to stop Scott; he failed again, and Santa Anna again gave up power. Eventually a government was formed which reluctantly gave up Texas, New Mexico, and California (Morison, p. 565).
It will tell you something about the organization of the United States Army that total deaths in the war were about 13,000 -- 1700 killed in combat and 11,000 killed by disease and other non-combat causes (Siegenthaler, p. 145).
The war had a rather ridiculous end: Polk sent a negotiator named Nicholas Trist, who sat down with Santa Anna to work out a deal. Polk then fired Trist, but he kept negotiating anyway and worked out a deal (Siegenthaler, p. 151). Polk wasn't entirely happy with the treaty, but he sent it to the Senate -- and, lo and behold, they approved it.
The choice of Taylor to be the Whig presidential nominee to suceed Polk was ironic; according to Nevins1847, p. 195, a Whig operative talked to Taylor's brother, and was told that Taylor had no political convictions and rarely voted. But a man with no record was precisely what was wanted, and so Taylor was nominated -- and easily elected. According to Hammond-Atlas, p. U-49, Taylor earned 47% of the popular vote, Democrat Lewis Cass 42%, and Free Soiler Martin Van Buren 10%; in the electoral college, Taylor had 163 votes, Cass 127. Call it another victory for Taylor over Santa Anna, since Taylor was now the American president and Santa Anna was nothing.
Santa Anna did get the last laugh in a few things: Taylor died in 1850, and Santa Anna survived until 1876. And Santa Anna would come back in Mexico yet again; in 1853, he sold the United States the area known as the Gasden Purchase (Nevins1852, pp. 61-62).
The last word, though, probably should belong to former president John Quincy Adams: "I have opposed [annexing Texas] for ten long years, firmly believing it tainted with two great crimes: one, the leprous contamination of slavery; and two, robbery of Mexico.... 'They have sown the wind...'" (Wheelan, p. 60). And the Democrats did indeed reap the whirlwind. Polk was dead by 1850, when the Compromise of 1850 temporarily patched up the wounds caused by the Mexican War. But eleven years later, with the wounds of the battle over slavery still fresh, a slave state which no longer considered itself part of the Union fired on Fort Sumter....
Bone calls this "the most peculiar of all Chanties," and speculates, "I wonder if it was not at one time a seaman's prayer to Saint Anne, a bountiful Patron to Breton sailors? It is not easy to connect that supposition with the words as sung in later days for, in them, a negro influence is plain."
>>BIBLIOGRAPHY<<
Current/Williams/Friedel: Richard N. Current, T. Harry Williams, Frank Freidel, _American History: A Survey_, second edition (Knopf, 1966)
DeGregiorio: William A. DeGregorio, _The Complete Book of U. S. Presidents_, fourth edition (Barricade Books, 1993)
DeVoto: Bernard DeVoto, _The Year of Decision: 1846_ (Little, Brown and Company, 1943)
Hammond-Atlas: [No author listed], _The [Hammond] Atlas of United States History_ (Hammond, 1977)
Morison: Samuel Eliot Morison, _The Oxford History of the American People_ (Oxford, 1965)
Nevins1847: Allan Nevins, _The Ordeal of the Union: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-1852_ [volume I of _The Ordeal of the Union_] (Scribners, 1947)
Nevins1852: Allan Nevins, _The Ordeal of the Union: A House Dividing 1852-1857_ [volume II of _The Ordeal of the Union_] (Scribners, 1947)
Siegenthaler: John Seigenthaler, _James K. Polk_ [a volume in the _American Presidents_ series edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.] (Times Books, 2003)
Wheelan: Joseph Wheelan, _Invading Mexico: America's Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848_ (Carroll & Graf, 2007) - RBW
File: Doe078
===
NAME: Saoirse (Liberty)
DESCRIPTION: Gaelic and English. "My name is Freedom." Our first advance was in France. "When the orange tree drops its head Then liberty's sure to flourish." We'll drive out those who oppose us.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (O Muirgheasa's _Dha Chead de Cheoltaibh Uladh_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage France Ireland nonballad political freedom
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 27, "Saoirse" (1 text)
NOTES: Moylan: This is a macoronic song "collected in Donegal in the early part of the twentieth century... It was probably made prior to 1798." The verses alternate Irish and English "translation." - BS
File: Moyl027
===
NAME: Sara Jane
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his girlfriend/wife in unflattering ways; she hits him, she's the "terror of New York"; in short, ""My poor, silly Jane...She's my darling, she's my daisy, She's humpbacked and she's crazy... She's my freckled-faced consumptive Sara Jane"
AUTHOR: Lyrics: unknown; tune: Will S. Hays
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (recording, Cramer Bros.)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his girlfriend/wife in increasingly uncomplimentary ways; she hits him, she's the "terror of New York"; she eats cake, eats a fly, and vomits; she's crosseyed and lame, her breath smells like onions, etc. In short, ""My poor, silly Jane...She's my darling, she's my daisy, She's humpbacked and she's crazy... She's my freckled-faced consumptive Sara Jane"
KEYWORDS: madness shrewishness abuse humorous parody
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Pankake-PHCFSB, pp. 178-179 , "My Freckle-Faced Consumptive Mary Ann" (1 text, 1 tune -- the final verse and chorus of this song, which could circulate independently)
RECORDINGS:
Cramer Brothers, "Sara Jane" (Broadway 7578 c. 1927; Broadway 8059, c. 1932; rec. 1927)
J. D. Foster, "My Sarah Jane" (Gennett 6791/Supertone 9372 [as Sam Bunch], 1929)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Sara Jane" (Vocalion 5122, 1927; rec. 1926)
Smoky Mountain Twins, "Sarah Jane" (Conqueror 7065, 1928) [note: this record number was also used for "I Was Born 4000 Years Ago), but that may have been the same recording, as the songs can share a floating verse]
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hungry Hash House" (floating verse, tune)
cf. "I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago (Bragging Song)" (Charlie Poole version - floating verse)
cf. "Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane" (tune)
NOTES: Not to be confused with Uncle Dave Macon's "Rock About My Saro Jane." Since it shares the "freckle-faced consumptive etc." verse with Charlie Poole's 1925 recording "I'm the Man Who Rode the Mule Around the World" and several recordings of "Hungry Hash House," one suspects it was composed as an extension of those appearances. Or does the whole song appear elsewhere, earlier?- PJS
I've no good answer to that question; we are, for the moment, filing loose verses about the freckle-faced girl here, but it's by no means clear where they actually originated. See, however, "Dennis McGonagle's Daughter Mary Ann."
Not to be confused with "Sarah Jane," also a humorous song between lovers, but based on "Pop Goes the Weasel" and ending with him ead and her courting another. - RBW
File: RcSarJan
===
NAME: Sarah Barnwell
DESCRIPTION: Sarah's brother disapproves of her love for Samuel. Samuel decides to face her brother "upon the mountains high" and disarms him; for Sarah's sake Samuel spares her brother's life. The brother approves the marriage and gives the couple half his lands.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1854 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(2130))
KEYWORDS: courting fight brother
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan2 218, "Sarah Barnwell" (1 text)
Roud #955
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(2130)[final lines illegible], "Young Barnwell" ("Abroad as I was walking, I heard two lovers talking"), A. Swindells (Manchester), 1796-1853
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Two Constant Lovers" (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Upon the Mountains High
NOTES: The description follows Karpeles, ed.,_Cecil Sharp's Collection of English Folk Songs_ (London, 1974), Vol. I, #73, pp. 318-319, "Young Barnswell" (1906, Somerset) and broadside Bodleian Harding B 25(2130). - BS
"The Two Constant Lovers" is an earlier ballad sharing the plot, cast of characters, and a few phrases. Since little of the text is shared with "Young Barnwell" I consider these separate songs. - BS
File: GrD2218
===
NAME: Sarah H. Furber
DESCRIPTION: "A maid of twenty summers Went forth with joy and mirth... Amidst the din of earth." "A manly face and favor Attracted her free hears." She goes astray (pregnant?), but gains no aid from "men of art and science." She dies alone
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt)
KEYWORDS: death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, pp. 38-39, "Lines Composed on the Abduction and Cruel Murder of MISS SARAH H. FURBER" (1 text)
NOTES: Despite the title, the text of this piece never describes a murder; frankly, it sounds as if the girl died of venereal disease, or perhaps pure poverty.
The item is a broadside, "price two cents." Burt's comment is, "And not worth more, I should say." That was in 1958 dollars. It's still true in today's dollars, I should say. - RBW
File: Burt038
===
NAME: Sarah Jane
DESCRIPTION: (After an unrelated opening stanza), we find Sarah Jane and Samuel courting on the D & H canal. He, however "succumbed to hard times" and is buried. As for Sarah, within a week "She started keeping comp'ny with a junk dealer... in Rondout."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958
KEYWORDS: courting hardtimes death burial infidelity humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
FSCatskills 173, "Sarah Jane" (1 text plus appendix; tune referenced)
DT, SARAJANE*
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Pop Goes the Weasel" (tune) and references there
cf. "The D & H Canal" (tune, floating lyrics)
NOTES: Not to be confused with the song we index as "Sara Jane," which is a humorous song of conflict between lovers. - RBW
File: FSC173
===
NAME: Sarah Mariah Cornell
DESCRIPTION: Reverend Avery seduces and then murders Sarah. He flees from justice, but is recaptured. Sarah's ghost (?) pleads for justice, warns girls not to be decieved by men, and asks for the listeners' prayers.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Journal from the Sharon)
KEYWORDS: murder clergy seduction betrayal trial escape
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 156-158, "Sarah Mariah Cornell" (1 text)
Roud #2044
NOTES: Huntington can find no other versions of this song, which I usually take to indicate that it is not traditional. But I feel sure I've seen it somewhere else. - RBW
File: SWMS156
===
NAME: Sarah's Young Man
DESCRIPTION: The singer falls in love with Sarah, a domestic who "lives in a mansion near Manchester Square." One night he discovers her cozying with a soldier. The master comes home, the soldier and Sarah lose their position, and Sarah loses her suitor.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1865 (broadside, Bodleian LOCSinging sb40501a)
KEYWORDS: courting infidelity servant soldier humorous unemployment
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 130-133, "Sarah's Young Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1957
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 18(432), "Sarah's Young Man," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also Firth b.34(198), "Sarah's Young Man"
LOCSinging, sb40501a, "Sarah's Young Man," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864; also as112240, "Sarah's Young Man"
NOTES: Broadsides LOCSinging sb40501a and Bodleian, Harding B 18(432): H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site.
Broadsides LOCSinging sb40501a and Bodleian, Harding B 18(432) are duplicates. - BS
File: IvNB130
===
NAME: Sarie
DESCRIPTION: Singer loves Sarie, a fat co-worker on the farm. She has humorous and suggestive escapades. When they marry, the two will be one -- but there's enough of her to make two or three. Cho: "For she's proud and she's beautiful, she's fat and she's fair...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (recording, Tony Wales)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer loves Sarie, a fat co-worker on the farm; she has accepted his proposal. While milking a cow, she falls over and says she has hurt her arm, but that's not where she fell. She falls in the river; he pulls her out; she berates him for the places he grabbed her. When they marry, the two will be one -- but there's enough of her to make two or three. Ch.: "For she's proud and she's beautiful, she's fat and she's fair...."
KEYWORDS: love marriage humorous lover
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Tony Wales, "Sarie" (on TWales1)
NOTES: Wales notes that several Sussex people knew fragments of the song, but most couldn't remember it in full. I'd guess at a music-hall origin. - PJS
File: RcSarie
===
NAME: Saro Jane: see Liza Jane (File: San132)
===
NAME: Sash My Father Wore (I), The
DESCRIPTION: An Ulster Orangeman, tells his "British brethren" that his forefathers fought that he might wear the sash. "It is old but it is beautiful," was worn in 1690, his father wore it and he wears it July 12. If needed, we will fight again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (The Orange Lark)
KEYWORDS: clothes battle Ireland nonballad patriotic father
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 1 or 12, 1690 (Old Style or New Style dates) - Battle of the Boyne. William III defeats the forces of James II to firmly establish his control of Ireland
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
OrangeLark 4, "The Sash My Father Wore" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SASHFTHR*
RECORDINGS:
Liam Clancy, "The Sash My Father Wore" (on IRLClancy01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hat My Father Wore" (form)
cf. "The Sash My Father Wore (II)" (subject, chorus and tune)
NOTES: IRLClancy01 includes only the chorus, used as an introduction to "The Scottish Breakaway." The source for the description is OrangeLark 4, "The Sash My Father Wore" [_The Orange Lark_ (1987)].
Apparently the orange sash was worn by King William at the Battle of the Boyne. July 12 is the Gregorian Calendar (adopted in England in 1752) date for celebrating the victory of William III of Orange in the Battle of the Boyne, July 1, 1690. [I would assign less significance to this than to the various ribbons and sashes worn by the Ribbonmen, the Orange Order, etc. - RBW]
Zimmermann: "It has been noted that 'much of the pugnacity has gone from the music played on the 12th day of July' [S.H. Bell _Erin's Orange Lily_, p. 14]; there is a tendency to replace the most violent ballads by innocuous songs such as 'The Ould Orange Flute' or 'The Sash my Father Wore'. 'The Ould Orange Flute' appeared on nineteenth century broadsides. The other song ['The Sash my Father Wore'] is more recent; it was probably the paraphrase of a non-political song, 'The Hat my Father Wore'. A nationalist version, quite different in character but singable to the same tune, appeared in _The Shan Van Vocht_, August 1896." It is clear that "The Sash" is an adaptation of "The Hat," or vice versa.
Re Zimmermann's note: "Innocuous" depends on point of view. The tune only of "The Sash" is played as a march on Voice16; in that connection Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 16" - 13.9.02: "Once upon a time, folklorists drew out their blue pencils to excise any reference to sex in folksongs, while, at the same time, printing any number of songs concerning rape, murder and wartime pillage. Nowadays things have changed .... Personally, I'm amazed that Reg Hall could include ... 'The Sash My Father Wore,' which has come to symbolize Protestant bigotry in many parts of Ireland."
Searching the web for an "accepted" text I found both versions I and II. - BS
File: RecSMFW
===
NAME: Sash My Father Wore (II), The
DESCRIPTION: The singer is "a loyal Orangeman, just come across the sea." He loves to sing and dance and -- on the Twelfth -- wear his father's sash. He is returning to Dromore but he hopes to come back again to be welcomed by his brethren.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1895 (Graham)
KEYWORDS: clothes Ireland derivative nonballad patriotic father
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Graham, p. 21, "The Sash My Father Wore" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Sash My Father Wore (I)" (subject, chorus and tune) and references there
cf. "The Hat My Father Wore" (many lines)
NOTES: Searching the web for an "accepted" text I found both versions I and II. The text of this version is very close to that of "The Hat My Father Wore," sharing many lines in each verse and substituting Orange references for Green. - BS
File: Grah021
===
NAME: Saskatchewan
DESCRIPTION: "Saskatchewan, the land of snow, Where winds are always on the blow... And why we stay here no one knows. Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, There's no place like Saskatchewan...." The singer tells of the hard life during Depression and drought
AUTHOR: Words: William W. Smith
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: farming poverty hardtimes Canada
FOUND_IN: Canada
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 208-211, "Saskatchewan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ohrlin-HBT 10, "Saskatchewan" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SASKATCH*
Roud #4525
RECORDINGS:
Jim Young, "Saskatchewan" (on Saskatch01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Beulah Land" (tune)
cf. "Dakota Land" (tune, theme)
NOTES: Saskatchewan, always dry and never rich, became Canada's dust bowl during the 1930s. Drought there was hardly unexpected, but drought, damaged topsoil, and a bad economy made times especially bad. William W. Smith's humorous lament fit right in with the feelings of the locals -- and even with their hopes, as the last verse shows:
But still we love Saskatchewan,
We're proud to say we're native ones,
So count your blessings drop by drop;
Next year we'll have a bumper crop." - RBW
File: FMB209
===
NAME: Saskatchewan Girl's Lament, The: see Poor Little Girls of Ontario (File: FMB147)
===
NAME: Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
DESCRIPTION: "Well, well, well, well, well, Now, God's got a kingdom (x3), But Satan's got a kingdom too." "I'm gonna pray till I tear that kingdom down, For I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Satan, your kingdom must come down.'" "I'm gonna shout/sing till I tear..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, Blind Joe Taggart)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #5737
RECORDINGS:
Frank Proffitt, "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" (on FProffitt01)
Blind Joe Taggart, "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" (Paramount 13081, 1931)
File: RcSYKMCD
===
NAME: Satan's a Liar (Ain't Gonna Worry My Lord No More)
DESCRIPTION: "Satan's a liah, and a conjuh too, if you don't watch out he'll conjuh you (x2), Ain't gonna worry my Lawd no mo' (x2)." "Goin' to heaven on an angel's wing; When I get there you'll hear me sing." "When I get to heaven I'm gonna sit yah down...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: religious Devil
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, pp. 250-251, "Satan's a Liah" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Let That Liar Alone" (theme)
File: San250
===
NAME: Satan's Camp A-Fire
DESCRIPTION: "Fire, my Savior, fire, Satan's camp afire, Fire, believer, fire, Satan's camp afire."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen, Ware, Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious Devil nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 27, "Satan's Camp A-Fire" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #11980
File: AWG027A
===
NAME: Satan's Kingdom
DESCRIPTION: "This night my soul has caught new fire, Halle-hallelujah. I feel that heav'n is drawing nigh'r... Shout, shout, we are gaining ground, Satan's kingdom is tumbling down." Evidence is offered that heaven will triumph
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1842
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Bible
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-FSNA 36, "Satan's Kingdom" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #6668
NOTES: Among the scriptural references in this piece are the following:
* Samson putting the Philistines to flight: see Judges 13-16
* "When Israel came to Jericho": see Joshua 6
* "Saint Paul and Silas bound in jail": Acts 16:19f.; see also 2 Cor. 11:13, where Paul mentions multiple imprisonments - RBW
File: LoF036
===
NAME: Satisfied
DESCRIPTION: Call-and-answer, with the refrain, "Satisfied." The text is at the leader's discretion, e.g., "I'm going up north, SATISFIED, I'm going down south, SATISFIED, Mama cooked a cow, SATISFIED, Gonna give all the girls, SATISFIED, Their bellies full..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recordings, children of East York School and Lilly's Chapel School)
KEYWORDS: playparty work nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 150-152, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune); cf. pp. 152-153 (apparently a combination of this song with "Easy Rider") (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Children of East York School, "I'm Goin' Up North" (on NFMAla1)
Children of Lilly's Chapel School, "See See Rider" (on NFMAla1) -- not the popular blues song, but another version of the "Satisfied" chant)
File: CNFM150
===
NAME: Saturday Night
DESCRIPTION: "Saturday night and Sunday too, Pretty gals on my mind. Monday mornin' break of day, Old Massa's got me goin'." The slave works through the week while looking forward to spending the weekend with the girls. Also has sundry floating verses
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: courting work slave animal floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
BrownIII 459, "Saturday Night and Sunday Too" (1 fragment)
Lomax-FSNA 261, "Saturday Night" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 228, (no title) (1 short text, which also includes the "Little bees suck de blossoms" verse)
Roud #6704
File: LoF261
===
NAME: Saturday Night at Sea
DESCRIPTION: "A sailor loves a gallant ship And messmates bold and free And ever welcomes with delight Saturday night at sea." The sailor recalls the time when, if the weather is good, the crew is able to relax and enjoy themselves
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1843 (Journal from the Florida)
KEYWORDS: sailor ship nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 65-66, "Saturday Night at Sea" (1 text plus a supplementary stanza, 1 tune)
DT, SATSEA
Roud #2020
NOTES: According to John Malcolm Brinnin, _The Sway of the Grand Saloon: A Social History of the North Atlantic_, pp. 73-75, a poem called "Saturday Night at Sea" was written in 1838 by Judge Joseph Howe aboard the brig _Tyrian_ as she made a transatlantic voyage.
Brinnin quotes four verses. Apart from the words "Saturday Night at Sea," they have nothing in common with the poem in Huntington. Yet the theme is so similar that I have to think they are related. Given that the _Florida_ version dates from 1843. my guess is that Howe heard the piece aboard ship, thought it unacceptable for some reason (perhaps it had bawdy lyrics?), and rewrote it. - RBW
File: SWMS065
===
NAME: Saucy Arabella, The: see A-Rolling Down the River (The Saucy Arabella) (File: Hug178)
===
NAME: Saucy Dolphin, The: see The Dolphin (File: ChFRS066)
===
NAME: Saucy Jack Tar, The: see The Saucy Sailor (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38] (File: LK38)
===
NAME: Saucy Sailor, The (Jack and Jolly Tar II) [Laws K38]
DESCRIPTION: Jack the sailor admits his poverty to a girl, who scorns him and refuses his offer of marriage. He pulls out a handful of money and offers it to her; she instantly changes her mind. But Jack turns the tables; he has no need for a poor country girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1781 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: poverty courting money
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond,South,West),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Laws K38, "Saucy Sailor, The (Jack and Jolly Tar II)"
Doerflinger, pp. 294-295, "Jack Tar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 461-462, "The Saucy Sailor Boy" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 343-344]
SharpAp 168, "The Saucy Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 45, "The Saucy Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan1 49, "The Saucy Sailor" (2 fragments, 2 tunes)
JHCox 123, "The Jack of Tar" ( text)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 151-152, "The Tar-ry Sailor" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 202-203, "Saucy Sailor" (2 texts plus 1 excerpt, 2 tunes)
Peacock, pp. 316-317, "Tarry Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 62, "The Saucy Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 415, SAUCYSLR* TARSAIL2*
Roud #531
RECORDINGS:
Johnny Doughty, "Come My Own One, Come My Fond One" (on Voice02)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.12(333), "Saucy Sailor Boy," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1846-1854; also Harding B 11(3429), Firth c.13(252), Firth c.13(253), Firth c.12(331), Harding B 16(244a), Firth b.26(245), Firth c.13(197), "Saucy Sailor Boy"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Will You Wed with a Tarry Sailor?" [Laws K37] (plot)
cf. "Johnny the Sailor (Green Beds) [Laws K36]" (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Saucy Jack Tar
Jack Tar
I'm to Cross
NOTES: Both GreigDuncan1 fragments are too short to be clearly identified as Laws K38 but the ideas in each brief text are consistent with K38 texts I have seen even if the lines are not in any of those texts. However, they as easily fit (?) "Will You Wed with a Tarry Sailor?" [Laws K37] - BS
File: LK38
===
NAME: Saucy Ward: see Captain Ward and the Rainbow [Child 287] (File: C287)
===
NAME: Sauer Kraut
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, sauer kraut is hunky, boys, And sauer kraut is fine; I tinks I ought to know it 'Cause I eats it all der time." Aboard the Bella Young the crew fishes in summer, carries kelp in winter, and sells saurkraut by the barrel for Johnson or Zwicker.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: ship work food humorous nonballad sailor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Smith/Hatt, p. 12, "Sauer Kraut" (1 text)
DT, SRKRAUT*
Roud #8890
File: SmHa12
===
NAME: Sault Ste. Marie Jail, The (The Albany Jail)
DESCRIPTION: The singer laments his time in prison. After getting drunk, he had to be forcibly taken into custody, and the bail was more than he could raise. Now he suffers prison food and confinement (as well as a preacher who keeps on "until my ears got sore")
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes drink
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
FSCatskills 168, "The Albany Jail" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SOODTMRY*
Roud #2324
NOTES: This song is item dE51 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: FSC168
===
NAME: Sausage Meat Machine, The: see Dunderbeck (File: R488)
===
NAME: Sauvagesse, La
DESCRIPTION: "Je suis du bord de l'Ohio, J'ai le courage pour noblesse...." A voyageur Come-All-Ye. La Sauvagesse tells of herself, her love of the canoe, her parentage (a Frenchman and a witch) and so on.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1919
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage river fishing family witch
FOUND_IN: Canada(Queb)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 581, "La Sauvagesse (The Girl of the Wilds)" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: BMRF581
===
NAME: Save My Father's Picture from the Sale
DESCRIPTION: "It was many years ago, in the time of frost and snow, My poor old father fell sick and died." The orphan is forced to watch as all (his/her) memories are sold. Finally he begs, "Save my father's picture from the sale!" and a pretty girl buys it for him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: death orphan commerce help
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 854, "Save My Father's Picture from the Sale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 478-481, "Save My Father's Picture from the Sale" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 854)
Roud #4459
NOTES: Cohen notes that several songs from the 1880s -- "Save My Father's Picture from the Sale," "Don't Sell My Mother's Picture," and the parody "Save My Brother's Whiskers from the Pail" -- seem built around the elements of this song. Whether these ancestral to or derived from the song given to Randolph is unclear; his informant thought the song older than the copyrights. - RBW
File: R854
===
NAME: Save Our Swilers
DESCRIPTION: "Come all you Newfoundlanders and listen to my song About St. Anthony's visitors from 'away' and 'upalong.'" "They are out to ban the seal hunt." "We're the endangered species." Listeners are urged to vote for those who support the seal hunt
AUTHOR: A. R. Scammell
EARLIEST_DATE: 1977 (Decks Awash 6:4)
KEYWORDS: hunting political nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, pp. 156-157, "Save Our Swilers" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Polina" (tune)
File: RySm156
===
NAME: Save Your Money When You're Young
DESCRIPTION: Singer describes his wasteful youth as a lumberjack and impoverished old age, advising listeners to "Save your money when you're young, you'll need it when you're old." He advises married men to stay home, away from grogshops, and single men to marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: age poverty drink warning money logger
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Rickaby 7, "Save Your Money When You're Young" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 40, "Save Your Money When You're Young" (1 text)
Fowke-Lumbering #61, "Save Your Money While You're Young" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SAVEMONY
Roud #2325
RECORDINGS:
Jim Doherty, "Save Your Money While You're Young" (on Lumber01)
File: Be040
===
NAME: Save Your Money While You're Young: see Save Your Money When You're Young (File: Be040)
===
NAME: Saville the Brave Man
DESCRIPTION: "Saville the brave man, while other men trembled, Defied the fierce wind and the wild raging sea." In spite of storm warnings he and MacKenzie take Alma to fish the banks. Watchers from Cape Spry thought Alma could not be saved but Saville brings her in
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: fishing sea ship storm
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 51, "Saville the Brave Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 174-177,254, "Saville the Brave Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12468
NOTES: Cape Spry is on the east coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: Dib051
===
NAME: Savourneen Deelish
DESCRIPTION: "Oh the moment was sad when my love and I parted." The singer is called to fight across the ocean. The singer fights but saves his money and booty. When peace is declared he returns home to find she had died.
AUTHOR: George Coleman (1762-1836) (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1791 (Coleman's play _The Surrender of Calais_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: love war separation death soldier
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Moylan 173, "Savourneen Deelish" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 13, "Savourneen Deelish" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
LOCSheet, sm1851 680750, "Savourneen Deelish Aileen Oh," William Hall and Son (New York), 1851; also sm1851 491570, "Savourneen Deelish" (tune)
LOCSinging, as203250, "Savourneen Deelish Eileen Oge," H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864
Bodleian, Harding B 18(433), "Savourneen Deelish Eileen Oge," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878; also Harding B 11(3432), "Savourna Deelish" or "The Moment was Sad"; Harding B 11(2993), Firth c.14(215), "Eileen Oge!" or "Savourneen Deelish"
NOTES: Moylan: "The song was immensely popular during the 19th century.... 'Savourneen Deelish' is an anglicization of ''s a mhuirnin dilis', literally 'and my own true love', the first phrase of the chorus of several Irish language songs."
Broadside Bodleian Harding B 18(433) and LOCSinging as203250: H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
The popularity of the song may well be explained by its familiar theme. In Ireland there were few jobs available, especially to Catholics, except working on their parents' farm. And a young man without property, having no prospects, could not marry. So he either waited until his father died and he inherited some land, or he could join the army. And, in those days, joining the military usually meant a long stay far in a foreign land, with no communications with home; even if both he and his love were literate (unlikely), the mail was expensive and unreliable. - RBW
File: Moyl173
===
NAME: Saw Ye My Savior?
DESCRIPTION: An account of the death of Jesus. The opening verse states "He died on Calvary, to atone for you and me." The song goes on to mention the darkness on the cross, the earthquake, the pain, and his forgiveness
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Flanders/Olney)
KEYWORDS: dying Jesus religious Easter
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 122-123, "Saw You My Saviour" (sic.) (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FO122 (Partial)
Roud #4679
NOTES: "Calvary" -- this name is not used in modern English versions of the New Testament. The King James version used it in Luke 23:33 (from Latin Caluaria)
"Darkness" -- "From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon" (Matt. 27:45 NRSV; cf.Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44)
"The solid rocks were rent" -- "At that moment [when Jesus died]... the earth shook, and the rocks were split" (Matt. 27:51)
"Thus behold my hands and side" -- [Jesus] said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side'" (John 20:27)
"I will forgive them" -- "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34 -- however, most of the oldest and best manuscripts omit this phrase) - RBW
File: FO122
===
NAME: Sawmill Song, The
DESCRIPTION: "Mel Clark gets the cream of the berries, Tom Melanson don't think it no fun, Little Joe Dyer, in the pit a-hollerin', Wonders why the damn' thing don't run." The singer describes the work done (perhaps not very efficiently) in the sawmill
AUTHOR: Dana Cate ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott); informant claims to have written it c. 1909
KEYWORDS: work nonballad technology
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Linscott, pp. 280-283, "The Sawmill Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3741
File: Lins280
===
NAME: Sawney Ogilvie's Duel with His Wife
DESCRIPTION: "Good people, give ear to the fatalest duel That Morpeth e'er saw since it was a town... Poor Sawney... Miscarried and married a Scottish tarpawlin." Sawney ruins his prospects with his marriage; his wife regularly abuses him
AUTHOR: Thomas Whittle
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay); Whittle reportedly died 1736
KEYWORDS: marriage hardtimes abuse humorous
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 124-125, "Sawney Ogilvie's Duel With His Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3156
File: StoR124
===
NAME: Saxon Shilling, The
DESCRIPTION: The martial parades "dazzled village youths to-day Will crowd to take the Saxon Shilling." Fools sell themselves "to shame and death," "crush the just and brave." "Irish hearts! why should you bleed, To swell the tide of British glory"?
AUTHOR: Kevin T. Buggy (Source: Zimmermann)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1842 ("The song was first printed in the _Belfast Vindicator_ in 1842," according to Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: army recruiting Ireland nonballad political
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 49, "The Saxon Shilling" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(68), "The Saxion Shilling" [only misspelled in the title], unknown, n.d.; also 2806 c.15(39), "The Saxion Shilling" [only misspelled in the title]
NOTES: Broadsides Bodleian Harding B 19(68) and Bodleian 2806 c.15(39) are duplicates. The last two lines are identically mangled.
Zimmermann: "The man who enlisted as a soldier was given the 'King's shilling' by a recruiting officer."
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "The Saxon's Shilling" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
One suspects that author Buggy never missed any meals, which was the main reason Irish youth enlisted in the army. Though his source of income certainly wasn't his writing; I have been unable to find anything else he wrote, and he is not mentioned in Patrick C. Power's _A Literary History of Ireland_. - RBW
File: Zimm049
===
NAME: Say, Darling, Say
DESCRIPTION: Song starts out with two verses of "Hush, Little Baby," but veers off: "All I've got is you in mind/Wouldn't do nothing but starch and iron"; "Starch and iron will be your trade/And I can get drunk and lay in the shade" Chorus: "Say, darling, say"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (recording, Ernest V. Stoneman)
KEYWORDS: work drink dancetune nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #470
RECORDINGS:
Ernest V. Stoneman, "Say, Darling, Day" (on Stonemans01); Ernest V. Stoneman, Willie Stoneman, and the Sweet Brothers, "Say Darling Say" (Gennett 6733 [as by Justin Winfield]/Supertone 9400 [as by Uncle Ben Hawkins], 1929; rec. 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hush, Little Baby" (lyrics, tune)
NOTES: Roud, unsurprisingly, lumps this with "Hush Little Baby," since it has common lyrics and the tunes are close (though this is usually done much faster than "Hush Little Baby"). But the different ending, and the chorus, is enough to separate them in my book and in Paul Stamler's. - RBW
File: RcSyDaSa
===
NAME: Says T'auld Man tit Oak Tree: see Says the Old Man to the Oak Tree (File: BGMG071)
===
NAME: Says the Old Man to the Oak Tree
DESCRIPTION: "Says t'auld man t' the (old/oak) tree, Young and lusty was I when I kenn'd thee; I was young and lusty, I was fair and clear, Young and lusty was I mony a lang year, But sair fail'd am I, sair fail'd now, Sair fail'd am I sen I kenn'd thou."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1785 (Gammer Gurton's Garland)
KEYWORDS: age
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #71, p. 80, "(Says t'auld man tit oak tree)"
DT, MANOAK
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sair Fyel'd, Hinny"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Old Man and the Oak. A North Country Son (Ritson's title)
NOTES: Several versions of "Sair Fyel'd, Hinny" include this lyric essentially intact -- and in Northumbrian dialect. But I don't know if this split off and became a Mother Goose rhyme on its own, or if that song swallowed it. My decision to split them was very tentative. - RBW
File: BGMG071
===
NAME: Scady Rocks, The
DESCRIPTION: Three men and a girl from Cushendall are in Colonel Caufield's Maid of Youghal in a storm. The boat splits on Scady Rock near the Bridge of Toome over the River Bann. All are drowned. People mourn.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (IRRCinnamond01)
KEYWORDS: drowning ship storm wreck
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
ST RcScaRoc (Full)
Roud #6986
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "The Scady Rock" (on IRRCinnamond01)
NOTES: The description is based on John Moulden's transcription from IRRCinnamond01 included in the Traditional Ballad Index Supplement.
There seems to be a gap in the text since there is no follow-up to the lines "very soon you all will hear Of the manhood of young Squire Jones." Cushendall and Toome are in Co Antrim. - BS
File: RcScaRoc
===
NAME: Scandalize My Name
DESCRIPTION: "I met my preacher the other day, I gave him my right hand, And just as soon as my back was turned, He scandalized my name. Do you call that religion (x3)...." The singer continues with other examples of those who defame him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (recording, Kitty Cheatham)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad lie accusation
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Silber-FSWB, p. 369, "Scandalize My Name" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Cheatham, "Scandalize My Name" (Columbia A5224, 1910)
Dizie Jubilee Singers, "Don't You Scandalize My Name" (Cameo 914, 1926)
Golden Crown Quartet, "Scandalize My Name" (OKeh 8739, 1929; on VocalQ2)
Kentucky Juibilee Quartet, "Do You Call That Religion" (OKeh 8509, 1927)
Mitchell Christian Singers, "They Scandalized My Name" (Melotone M-13162/Conqueror 8457, 1934/Banner 33195, 1935)
Monroe Brothers, "Do You Call That Religion?" (Bluebird B-7055, 1937)
Sunset Four Quartette, "Do You Call That Religion" (Paramount 12221, 1924)
NOTES: This is sometimes listed, e.g. in the Folksinger's Wordbook, as a religious song. It has a religious theme (since it catalogs those who do not practice religion as the singer thinks they should), but is not really a religious piece but a complaint. - RBW
File: FSWB369
===
NAME: Scant of Love, Want of Love: see Maids When You're Young Never Wed an Old Man (File: K207)
===
NAME: Scantling Line, The: see Fox River Line, The (The Rock Island Line) [Laws C28] (File: LC28)
===
NAME: Scarboro Sand (The Drowned Sailor) [Laws K18]
DESCRIPTION: A Scarborough girl learns that her sailor love has been lost at sea. She asks the waters to bring her love ashore. She finds the body, kisses it, and dies. The two are buried in "Robin Hood's Churchyard."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1853 (broadside, Bodleian Johnson Ballads 1956)
KEYWORDS: sea death burial drowning
FOUND_IN: US(SE) Britain(England(Lond,North),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Laws K18, "Scarboro Sand (The Drowned Sailor)"
Warner 151, "Scarborough Sand" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 37, "The Drowned Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 105, "Scarboro Sand (Robin Hood Side)" (1 text)
Chappell-FSRA 39, "In Robin Hood's Churchyard" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan1 20, "Scarborough Banks" (9 texts, 8 tunes)
Ord, pp. 332-333, "Scarborough's Banks" (1 text)
Peacock, pp. 722-725, "Strawberry Tower" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 44, "Arbour Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 561, SCARSAND
Roud #185
RECORDINGS:
Sam Larner, "In Scarboro' Town" (on SLarner01; on Voice02 as "In Scarborough Town"); "The Drowned Lover" (on SLarner02)
Frank Verrill, "Stowborough Town" (on Voice12)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1956, "Stow Brow," John Ross (Newcastle), 1847-1852; also Harding B 11(3208), "Stow Brow"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Strawbello Strand
Scarberry's Shores
NOTES: The reference to "Robin Hood's Churchyard" is almost certainly a reference to the village of Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire; some versions of the song set the events in that town rather than in Scarborough.
I do not know that the two Larner recordings are in fact different -- these two compilations drew from the same collection of field tapes -- but as the titles are given as different I thought it prudent to separate them. - PJS
File: LK18
===
NAME: Scarborough Fair: see The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002)
===
NAME: Scarborough Settler's Lament
DESCRIPTION: "Away wi' Canada's muddy creeks And Canada's fields of pine. Your land of wheat is a goodly land, but ah! it isna mine!" The Scottish settler thinks back with sadness to the home he left behind -- but awakes in Canada, "three thousand miles 'frae hame.'"
AUTHOR: Sandy Clandenning
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: emigration homesickness Canada
FOUND_IN: Canada
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 94-95, "A Scarborough Settler's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 29, "The Scarborough Settler's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SCARSET*
Roud #4521
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Spancil Hill" (theme)
cf. "That Dear Old Land" (theme)
cf. "The Glenshesk Waterside" (theme)
cf. "Farewell to Sweet Glenravel" (theme)
cf. "Och, Och, Eire, O!" (theme)
cf. "The Call of Home" (theme)
cf. "A Shamrock from Tiree" (theme)
cf. "Farewell to the Banks of the Roe" (theme)
cf. "Banks of the Roe" (theme)
cf. "The Shamrock Shore (The Maid of Mullaghmore)" (theme)
cf. "Maguire's Brae" (theme)
cf. "Sweet Loughgiel" (theme)
cf. "Juberlane" (theme)
cf. "Glen O'Lee" (theme)
cf. "Sweet Glenbush" (theme)
cf. "The Hills of Donegal" (theme)
cf. "O, Derry, Derry, Dearie Me" (theme)
cf. "Cloughwater/The Shamrock Shore" (theme)
cf. "The Little Old Mud Cabin on the Hill" (theme)
cf. "Norah McShane" (theme)
cf. "Bonnie Lyndale" (theme)
cf. "The Song of the Emigrant" (theme(
NOTES: Sandy Clandenning settled in Scarborough (near Toronto) in 1840. He set these words to the first half of the tune "Of A' the Airts the Wind Can Blaw." It has also been sung to "The Irish Emigrant's Lament." - RBW
File: FMB094
===
NAME: Scarborough's Banks: see Scarboro Sand (The Drowned Sailor) [Laws K18] (File: LK18)
===
NAME: Scavenger's Brigade, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer joins "The Scavengers' Brigade" sweeping Belfast streets. They parade like soldiers with brooms on their shoulders. His family and sweetheart think he's in some army brigade and expect promotion and glory. He recommends it as an occupation
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3); 19C? (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.16(409))
LONG_DESCRIPTION: The singer arrives in Belfast and finally finds work sweeping streets in "The Scavengers' Brigade." "With our brooms across our shoulders, That's our only uniform ... We're always on parade." His father reads his letters to the neighbors "for he thinks that I'm a sojer, with a gun." His mother wonders "if her darling is a kilty or dragoon" and expects he'll soon be a General. His sweetheart writes "that for my sake she's not afraid to leave her native land And risk a soldier's life whenever I get command" He tells everyone to save their pennies, come to Belfast, and "come and gain promotion in the Scavenger Brigade."
KEYWORDS: work humorous family clothes
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
GreigDuncan3 490, "The Scavengers' Brigade" (1 fragment)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 72-73, "The Scavenger's Brigade" (1 text)
Hammond-Belfast, p. 45, "The Scavengers' Brigade" (1 text)
Roud #5978
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.16(409), "The Scavenger Brigade" ("It's myself a dacent Irish lad, arrived from Donegal," unknown, n.d. [beginning lines illegible]
File: HayU072
===
NAME: Schaladi: see Young Charlotte (Fair Charlotte) [Laws G17] (File: LG17)
===
NAME: Schlof Mayn Kind (Sleep My Child)
DESCRIPTION: Yiddish: The mother urges her little child to sleep. She tells the child that someday it will understand why she weeps. Father has gone to America, seeking to earn the money to let them all emigrate. Till then, baby can only sleep and mother can only wait
AUTHOR: Words: Sholom Aleichem
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950
KEYWORDS: family lullaby separation emigration foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scott-BoA, pp. 287-289, "Schlof Mayn Kind (Sleep My Child)" (2 texts (1 English, 1 Yiddish), 1 tune)
NOTES: There seem to be two Yiddish songs by that title: this one (which is more completely titled "Schlof Mayn Kind, Mayn Treyst, Mayn Sheiner") and another that is sometimes called "Shlof Mayn Kind, Shlof Keseyder." [For which see the _Folksinger's Wordbook_, p. 408. - RBW] In the latter, the mother sings to the child bitterly about the differences between rich and poor; emigration is not mentioned. - PJS
File: SBoA287
===
NAME: Schnooglin'
DESCRIPTION: "Schnooglin'" is the process of keeping warm by necking, the singer asserts, adding the warning not to let a boy an inch above your knee.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: bawdy warning
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 252-253, "Schnooglin'" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10289
File: EM252
===
NAME: Schomberg
DESCRIPTION: This is a memorial to "William's true and gallant knight -- Schomberg, the bold and brave!" He'd had a "bright career ... But at the Boyne, for ever famed, He fell beside the wave"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: battle death Ireland memorial patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 1 or 12, 1690 (Old Style or New Style dates) - Battle of the Boyne. William III defeats the forces of James II to firmly establish his control of Ireland
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OrangeLark 10, "Schomberg" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle of the Boyne (I)" (subject: The Battle of the Boyne) and references there
NOTES: For background on the Boyne, and on Schomberg, see the notes to "The Battle of the Boyne (I)." It might be noted that, although Schomberg had had an excellent career, his performance in Ireland was not very energetic (he was, after all, in his seventies); it was his failure to win the Irish campaign which forced William of Orange to come himself and fight at the Boyne. Some of Schomberg's problems were not his fault -- but many were; he made a hash of his logistics, resulting in his force suffering many useless casualties. - RBW
File: OrLa010
===
NAME: School Days
DESCRIPTION: "'Tis sweet to go back in memory To days of youth so dear to me When we could find a secluded spot And gather the blue forget-me-not." The singer recalls when "life was smooth as a poet's rhyme." He fondly remembers the old schoolhouse and childhood
AUTHOR: Edgar Hamm?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: nonballad youth
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 251-252, "School Days" (1 text)
NOTES: This sounds so nineteenth-century-parlor-song, it's uncanny. But I don't know of any sheet music version. - RBW
File: ThBa250
===
NAME: School Days of Long Ago
DESCRIPTION: "Still sits the schoolhouse by the road Close by the old oak tree, Where many a boy has took a dose Of grim old hickory tea." The singer describes the strict methods of the old school, and laments the laziness of the students
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 872, "School Days of Long Ago" (1 text)
Roud #7538
File: R872
===
NAME: School Ma'am on the Flat
DESCRIPTION: "McClellan was a cowboy of the wild and wooly west." He courts and seduces a "school ma'am." The enter into an unhappy marriage. "If John Henry gets to raring up, he will flog him with his hat Before he goes courting another school ma'am on the flat."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1976 (collected by Logsdon from Riley Neal)
KEYWORDS: cowboy courting sex humorous
FOUND_IN: US(SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Logsdon 6, pp. 53-54, "School Ma'am on the Flat" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Logs006 (Partial)
Roud #10087
File: Logs006
===
NAME: Schooner Blizzard, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer warns his comrades "not to sail in those mean packets where they put no food on board." He describes a trip that began with rotten food and no heat and ended with the steward jumping ship to get married
AUTHOR: Henry Burke and a shipmate
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: sailor hardtimes marriage warning
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1889 - Reported date of this voyage of the Blizzard
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Doerflinger, pp. 198-200, "The Schooner Blizzard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9428
File: Doe198
===
NAME: Schooner E. A. Horton: see The E. A. Horton [Laws D28] (File: LD28)
===
NAME: Schooner Fred Dunbar, The [Laws D14]
DESCRIPTION: A sailor speaks of his vessel's travels, all the while advising the girls about the pleasures and advantages of going out with sailors
AUTHOR: Amos Hanson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933
KEYWORDS: sea sailor travel
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Laws D14, "The Schooner Fred Dunbar"
DT 832, FREDDUNB*
Roud #2237
File: LD14
===
NAME: Schooner Helson
DESCRIPTION: "The vessel 'Schooner Helson' from Newport sailed away Arriving safe at Georgetown Without mishap that day." A storm on the way home wrecks the schooner. All three of the crew drown and only one body is found, "washed up by the waves"
AUTHOR: Charlie Howlett
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, p. 46, "Schooner Helson" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12470
NOTES: Newport and Georgetown are on the east coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island. Newport is a few miles north of Georgetown. - BS
File: Din046
===
NAME: Schooner Jenkins, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come, shipmates, listen to my story, I'll sing you one both sad and true, How dark one night... Sank John Brown and his crew." The ship sets out in November, and is sunk. The crewmen who died are described in rather conventional terms
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (Oswego Palladium-Times)
KEYWORDS: ship death moniker
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 30, 1875 - Sinking of the Isaac G. Jenkins. 8 people die
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 220-221, 'The Schooner Jenkins" (1 text)
File: WGM220
===
NAME: Schooner John Bentely, The
DESCRIPTION: Derived from "The Dreadnaught," but of about a bad boat. The singer gets drunk, then joins the Bentely on the Great Lakes. The sound of the pumps makes him sick. The bedclothes are "junk." The ship is slow. The food is bad. Finally they reach Gravelly Bay
AUTHOR: Jeremiah Cavanaugh?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (collected by Walton from Jeremiah Cavanaugh)
KEYWORDS: sailor hardtimes derivative
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 98-100, "The Schooner John Bentely" (1 text)
NOTES: According to Walton/Grimm/Murdock, the _Benteley_ was built in 1873 and had the "lines of a brick." Hence, presumably, this song. - RBW
File: WGM098
===
NAME: Schooner Kandahar, The
DESCRIPTION: The Kandahar's trip starts out happily, but then the vessel springs a small leak and runs into a smallpox epidemic. Despite a threat of quarantine, the ship reaches the Indies, then has a quiet trip back to Nova Scotia
AUTHOR: Sepley Collin
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931
KEYWORDS: ship sea disease
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1896 - Voyage of the Kandahar
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Doerflinger, pp. 196-198, "The Schooner Kandahar" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4085
NOTES: This song is item dD42 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Doe196
===
NAME: Schooner Marion Rogers, The
DESCRIPTION: Marion Rogers sails for the North from St John's and is lost near Trinity in a snow storm. The crew of seven is lost in "the most awful shipwreck, the worst one of the year"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: death sea ship storm wreck
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Nov 27, 1938 - Marion Rogers stranded (total loss) at Lighthouse Rocks reef in Trinity Harbour (Northern Shipwrecks Database)
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lehr/Best 72, "The Schooner Marion Rogers" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Ravenal" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Ravenal (file: LeBe092)
File: LeBe072
===
NAME: Schooner Mary Ann, The: see Bound Down to Newfoundland [Laws D22] (File: LD22)
===
NAME: Schooner Oriole, The
DESCRIPTION: "Attention give both young and old... While I relate the hardships and the dangers of the sea, I'll tell you of the Illinois and of her reckless crew, How she sank the schooner Oriole...." The ships collide, and twelve on the Oriole die; only one survives
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Collected from Ben Peckham by Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship death disaster
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug 8/9, 1862 - Collision of the _Illinois_ and the _Oriole_, resulting in the destruction of the latter
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, p. 216, "The Schooner Oriole" (1 text)
NOTES: According to Julius F. Wolff, Jr., _Lake Superior Shipwrecks_, Lake Superior Port Cities Inc., Duluth, 1990, pp. 8-9, the schooner _Oriole_ left Marquette, Michigan on August 8 with about 500 tons of iron freight and 13 people aboard, including Captain Daniel McAdams, his wife, and his mother-in-law.
The ship soon ran into a heavy fog, but the captain did not slow down. Around 3:00 a.m., the _Illinois_ rammed the _Oriole_. It was still foggy, and the _Illinois_ took damage itself, so Captain Ryder headed on to Marquette without pausing to see what had happened.
He had, however, sliced the _Oriole_ in half. Of the 13 people on board, only one survived: Cook Andrew P. Fleming managed to cling to wreckage until he made his way to the _Oriole's_ stern, then still afloat, and lower a boat. He was rescued a day and a half later.
There would not be another accident on Lake Superior with such heavy loss of life until 1875, according to Wolff, p. 23. - RBW
File: WGM216
===
NAME: Schooner Thomas Hume, The
DESCRIPTION: "The schooner Hume is staunch and strong, She's weathered many a blow... She's bound for Buffalo." She sails on dangerous Lake Michigan. The captain takes her out on the lake. A great storm arises. Ship and crew are lost without trace
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (Collected from William Nicolas by Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship wreck death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 22, 1891 - Foundering of the _Thomas Hume_ off Holland, Michigan (Source: Bruce D. Berman, _Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks_, Mariner's Press, 1972, p. 245)
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 196-197, "The Schooner Thomas Hume" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Ed Vandenberg, "The Schooner Thomas Hume" (1955; on WaltonSailors; this version, with guitar accompaniment, seems to be sung by a revival singer, not an original informant)
NOTES: Walton/Grimm/Murdock note several contradictions between the song and the actual fate of the _Thomas Hume_ -- notably that the boat was not full of wheat (it was in fact almost empty) and it was lost in May, not at the end of the shipping season.
I observe in addition that the name "Hume" is mentioned only twice in Walton's text, and never the "Thomas Hume." I rather suspect this was originally about some other boat, with the name of the _Thomas Hume_ zipped in without the song being fully adapted to the actual circumstances of the sinking. - RBW
File: WGM196
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "I married me a scolding wife Some forty years ago And ever since I've led a life Of misery and woe." The abused husband details the various ways his wife chastises, injures, and neglects him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: husband wife abuse injury shrewishness
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South)) US(MW,NE,So)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Randolph 397, "The Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 214, "The Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 80, "My Scolding Wife" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 179, "A Scolding Wife" (1 short text plus mention of 1 more)
Roud #2132
RECORDINGS:
Margaret MacArthur, "The Scolding Wife" (on MMacArthur01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Scolding Wife (IV)" (subject)
NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann observe that this has the same subject and metrical pattern as "The Scolding Wife (IV)." But there seem to be no common lyrics at all; I (hesitantly) declare them separate. The chorus of this song runs something like
For she worries (or "hurries") me, she flurries me,
It is her heart's delight
To warm me with the fire-shovel
Round the room at night (or "in the middle of the night"). - RBW
File: R397
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (II), The: see The Dumb Wife (Dumb, Dumb, Dumb) [Laws Q5] (File: LQ05)
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (III): see The Holly Twig [Laws Q6]; also The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin [Child 277] (File: LQ06)
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (III), The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, you've often heard it asked Why a woman talks so fast Oh, she runs around with every bit of news." The singer claims "a woman's tongue will never take a rest"; she talks while he works. He advises marrying a wife who is "blind, deaf, and dumb."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: husband wife
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 201, "The Scolding Wife" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
Roud #6585
NOTES: I should perhaps assign this song the keyword "humorous," since it was probably intended to be funny. But it isn't; it's just a whine. - RBW
File: BrII201
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (IV)
DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye sprightly sporting youths, wherever you may be, You'll never know your misery till married that you'll be." The singer describes all the ways in which his wife makes his life miserable, and hopes she dies before she kills him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: husband wife fight marriage courting abuse
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H145, p. 503, "The Scolding Wife" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 151, "The Bad Wife" (1 text)
Roud #5556
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Scolding Wife (I)" (subject)
cf. "The Sporting Bachelors" (plot)
NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann observe that this has the same subject and metrical pattern as "The Scolding Wife (I)." But there seem to be no common lyrics at all; I (hesitantly) declare them separate. The chorus of the Henry text is
For she's aye, aye scowlin', an' she's aye scowlin' me,
She's for everlasting scowlin' and she canna let me be.
Roud lumps this with "The Sporting Bachelors," and I cannot deny the close similarity in themes. But the two appear somewhat different in both form and emphasis. - RBW
File: HHH145
===
NAME: Scolding Wife (IV), The: see The Farmer's Curst Wife [Child 278] (File: C278)
===
NAME: Scornful Dame, The: see Come Write Me Down (The Wedding Song) (File: K126)
===
NAME: Scornful Lover, The: see The Lonesome (Stormy) Scenes of Winter [Laws H12] (File: LH12)
===
NAME: Scotch Lassie, The: see Nae Bonnie Laddie tae Tak' Me Away; also Queen Mary (Auld Maid's Lament) (File: HHH230A)
===
NAME: Scotch Medley
DESCRIPTION: "Was ne'er in Scotlan' heard or seen Sic dancin an' deray As at Pattie's weddin' on the green Tae bonnie Mary Gray." The remaining seventeen verses string together people and things that are the names of songs: Maggie Lauder, Tullochgorum, ....
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: wedding dancing drink music moniker nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 605, "Scotch Medley" (1 text)
Roud #6053
NOTES: For similar works see broadsides Bodleian, Harding B 25(1742), "Scotch Medley" ("As I came in by Calder fair and yout[sic] the Tappard lee, man"), C. Croshaw (York), 1814-1850 and NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(28b), "Scotch Medley" ("Gae bring my guid auld harp ance mair"),unknown, c.1890. There is also a broadside posing as a letter, along the same lines at NLScotland, L.C.1268), "Letter from a Friend on a Journey to the North, to an inhabitant of Auld Reekie; being a curious and entertaining medly[sic] of Scotch Songs,"unknown, 1822. - BS
File: GrD3605
===
NAME: Scotland's Burning
DESCRIPTION: "Scotland's burning, Scotland's burning, Look out, look out, Fire, fire, fire, fire, Pour on water, pour on water."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1910 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(NE,SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
BrownIII 150, "Scotland's Burning" (1 text)
Linscott, p. 283, "Scotland's Burning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 412, "Scotland's Burning" (1 text)
Roud #3752
NOTES: No doubt some enterprising folklorist has attributed this to one or another of Scotland's various political crises (e.g. the period between the death of Alexander III and the accession of Robert the Bruce). Me, I think it's just a round. - RBW
File: FSWB412D
===
NAME: Scots Pipers, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer says when he dies "I'll hae nane o' yer mournin' an' weepin'." "Convene me a score o' Scots pipers." When David was young he learned to play [bagpipe] while herding sheep. When Saul was possessed David sent the spirit to hell with his drone.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: death music Bible nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan3 699, "The Scots Pipers" (1 text)
Roud #6116
NOTES: David's instrument was of course the "harp" (so the King James translation of 1 Samuel 16:16) -- an instrument which probably more closely resembled a lyre (and is so translated in, e.g., the New Revised Standard Version). Although we do not know the exact construction of David's instrument certainly wasn't a wind instrument such as a bagpipe; it had strings.
We should note that there are two versions of the story of David taking service with Saul, squished together in 1 Samuel 16-18; in one (16:14-23), David is hired as a musician to soothe Saul when the latter was possessed by evil spirits (1 Samuel 16:14, 23) and only later kills Goliath. In the other account (found primarily in 1 Samuel 17:12-31, 17:55-18:6, though portions of it may have been mixed with the material in 1 Samuel 17:1-11, 17:32-54), we have clearly a folktale independent of the more official account, in which David chances to be visiting Saul's army at the time of the fight with Goliath, and kills Goliath and only *then* enters Saul's service. Both accounts, to be sure, make David a shepherd (17:15 and 17:34), although in the version in 17:34, he had long since given up being a shepherd.
(If you want proof that the 1 Samuel story is conflate, note that the earliest substantial Greek translation of 1 Samuel, in the Codex Vaticanus, omits the folktale version. Amazingly, both the omitted text and the text Vaticanus includes tell *complete stories of Saul, David, and Goliath* -- extremely unlikely if some editor had simply been cutting out material. The material omitted in Vaticanus has every token of folktale -- e.g. Goliath taunts Saul's army for "forty days," as if the army could stay in place for that long. There is no question in my mind that it is a folktale added to the text of 1 Samuel at some time after the original composition.)
It is worth noting that, although David initially was successful in soothing Saul with his music, eventually Saul tried to kill David even while he was playing (1 Samuel 18:10-11). What this says about music and its effect on spirits I'm not sure. It is notable that we have other instances of prophets requiring music to summon the "spirit" of prophecy -- notably Elisha in 2 Kings 3:15. - RBW
File: GrD3699
===
NAME: Scots Soldiers True
DESCRIPTION: "Scots soldiers true, with bonnets blue ... made the French to run" at Waterloo. Bonaparte had been "haunted" by the Scots Greys in Spain and at Waterloo. Now Napoleon is dead and "Louise-Philippe and Britain's Queen Oft have an interview"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: battle France Spain Napoleon
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 154, "The Battle of Waterloo" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #5825
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.14(284), "Scots Soldiers True" ("Scots soldiers true, with bonnets blue"), Sanderson (Edinburgh), 1830-1910
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Our Brave Scotch Lads" (shares first verse lines)
NOTES: GreigDuncan1 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian Firth c.14(284) is the basis for the description. - BS
The reference to the Highlanders and Scots Greys at Waterloo is accurate; David Chandler, _The Campaigns of Napoleon_, (Macmillan, 1966), notes that the Scots Greys were in Wellington's army. They were among the forces who opposed the first French attack, launched by d'Erlon's corps.
I find myself wondering what is the purpose of this song, for it cannot have been written in the period immediately after Waterloo. After Napoleon's abdication, France was ruled by the restored Bourbons, first Louis XVIII (1814-1815 and 1815-1824) and then Charles X (1824-1830). Only after Charles X's abdication did Louis-Phillippe of the House of Orleans ascend the throne, reigning 1830-1848, when revolution forced him to abbicate also (clearing the way for Napoleon III). The presumption, then, is that the Queen of the song is Victoria (reigned 1837-1901). So the song in its broadside form must date from the period 1837-1848.
The charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo was long remembered, however. In addition to this poem, there is a famous painting, "Scotland for Ever," about the event. It was painted by Lady Butler in 1881. John Keegan, _The Face of Battle_ Viking Press, 1976 (I use the 1993 Barnes & Noble edition) includes a reproduction after p. 178, and notes that Lady Butler, whose husband was a general, actually convinced her husband to stage a cavalry charge at her so she could paint it accurately -- but Keegan says the painting is inaccurate even so. But, of course, what matters is that Lady Butler still found the event inspiring 66 years after Waterloo. - RBW
File: GrD1154
===
NAME: Scots Wha Hae (Bruce Before Bannockburn)
DESCRIPTION: "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has aften led, Welcome to your gory bed Or to victory!" As the English army of Edward approaches, the Scots are encouraged to "do or dee" to retain their freedom
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST_DATE: 1800 (Currie)
KEYWORDS: battle Scotland war freedom political
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1286 - Death of Alexander III of Scotland
1290 - Death of his granddaughter Margaret "Maid of Norway"
1292 - Edward I of England declares John Balliol king of Scotland
1296 - Edward deposes John Balliol
1297 - William Wallace, the Guardian of Scotland, defeats the English at Stirling Bridge
1298 - Edward defeats Wallace at Falkirk. Wallace forced into hiding
1305 - Capture and execution of Wallace (August 23)
1306 - Robert Bruce declares himself king of Scotland
1307 - Death of Edward I
1314 - Battle of Bannockburn. Robert Bruce defeats Edward II of England and regains Scottish independence
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 299, "Scots Wha Ha'e Wi' Wallace Bled" (1 text)
DT, SCOTWHAE*
ADDITIONAL: James Kinsley, editor, Burns: Complete Poems and Songs (shorter edition, Oxford, 1969) #425, pp. 561-562, "Robert Bruce's March to Bannockburn" (1 text, from 1793)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, RB.m.169(138), "Scots, wha hae wi Wallace bled," J. Pitts (London), 1820-1845; also L.C.Fol.70(47a), "Scots wha hae," unknown (London)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Day of Waterloo" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Day of Waterloo (Ord, p. 303)
NOTES: Titled, in Currie's publication, "Bruce to his Troops on the eve of the Battle of Bannock-burn."
By the time of Bannockburn, the Scots had been struggling against the English for twenty years, with relatively slight success overall. It was not the accession of Robert Bruce that turned the tide, but rather the death of the strong English king Edward I. (Maurice Ashley, n_The House of Stuart_, J. M. Dent, 1980, p. 3, speculates in fact that Robert Bruce started his rebellion in 1306 because Edward I clearly couldn't last much longer and his son was not in his league.) Edward I's successor, Edward II, was much weaker. When Edward II finally was induced to fight the Scots, he did little more than throw his troops at Bruce's army, leading to a catastrophic and unnecessary defeat.
Although Bannockburn was more Edward's loss than Bruce's victory, it became the defining event in the Scottish story, and hence the inspiration for this poem of Burns's (though there is no reason to think Bruce ever said anything like this, with the single exception noted below).
According to Michael Brander, _Scottish and Border Battles and Ballads_, Barnes & Noble, 1993, p. 30, the line, "Now's the time and now's the hour" actually goes back to the battle. As Robert Bruce was trying to decide whether to fight, a Scottish deserter from the English camp came in and gave him that advice. Bruce fought -- and of course won Scottish independence. Obviously this has the strong feeling of folklore -- but certainly it inspired Burns.
The tune of this piece is called "Hey Tuttie Taitie" by Burns, and Brander, p. 33, says that it was "traditionally supposed to have been the tune of Bruce's battle march." - RBW
File: FSWB299
===
NAME: Scow Jean La Plante, De
DESCRIPTION: "I'll tol' of wan boat, de scow Jean La Plante, She's sail by Batteece, a Frenchman so quaint...." Her crew is captain, mate, cooke, and dog. They race the Flying Cloud, and win when the latter snags a fishing line. A barrel of powder explodes the boat
AUTHOR: James J. Enright? (supposedly written 1867)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Detroit Free Press)
KEYWORDS: humorous racing cook dog ship
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 161-162, "De Scow Jean La Plante" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Rosie Belle Teeneau" (main character)
NOTES: It is not clear to me that this poem/song is traditional. Walton's version is from print, and there is no mention of having heard even a portion of it from tradition. But the notes imply that the legend of Batteece and the gunpowder is traditional -- indeed, there is another poem about him, ""The Rosie Belle Teeneau," which involves a different boat and a different voyage but has a "Captain Batteece DuChene" and ends with the boat blowing up. This probably isn't folk song. It may be folk tale. - RBW
File: WGM161
===
NAME: Scow Look 'n' See, De
DESCRIPTION: "A scow kom sailin' down Lac Sainte Claire, Sheengle an' cordwood she's deck load ware." In a storm, the cordwood floats away. The captain worries about losing profit and his boat. He gives impossible orders to control the boat and save the cargo
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1952 (collected from Fred M. Delano by Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship humorous hardtimes
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 162-164, "De Scow Look 'n' See" (1 text)
File: WGM162
===
NAME: Scow Nettie Fly, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, sailor, come gather and list to my ditty, To picture aright this hero I'll try. He seldom was sober... He's Captain Poulan of the scow Nellie Fly." In a storm, he drinks. He gives orders to the mate; both take a drink. When they arrive, he drinks
AUTHOR: supposedly Ralph Chene and other rivermen in the 1880s
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (collected from Ralph Chene by Walton)
KEYWORDS: sailor ship drink humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 164-165, "De Scow Nettie Fly" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 40, #2 (1995), p, 93, "The Scow Nettie Fly" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Walton gives no tune for this, but I strongly suspect it's "The Cumberland Crew."
The notes in _Sing Out!_ (which transcribes Lee Murdock's version) do not say where the tune came from; the implication is that it's from the Walton collection, but I assume Murdock supplied it. It is not "The Cumberland Crew." - RBW
File: WGM164
===
NAME: Scow on Cowden's Shore, The: see The Scow on the Cowden Shore (File: Doe234)
===
NAME: Scow on the Cowden Shore, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer (expressly identified as Larry Gorman) sings of "the scow on the Cowden shore." He describes the international crew of loggers, including several of the more peculiar characters, and speaks of the quest for liquor
AUTHOR: words: Larry Gorman/music & additional words: Willis Norrad
EARLIEST_DATE: 1948 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: logger drink nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Doerflinger, pp. 234-236, "The Scow on the Cowden Shore" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Manny/Wilson 42, "The Scow on Cowden Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 180-182, "The Scow on Cowden's Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe234 (Partial)
Roud #4529
NOTES: During log drives, the boss of the drive, the cook, and other non-participants would usually follow the logs in scows. Since the boat carried their provisions, the logdrivers were often highly alert to its progress. - RBW
"Cowden Shore was part of the Cowden farm, where Scottish immigrants of that name settled in the early nineteenth century.... Cowden Shore was conveniently near the Sou'West Boom, where the logs driven down the [Southwest Miramichi River] were stored, awaiting distribution to their owners." - BS
File: Doe234
===
NAME: Scow Sam Patch, The: see Yim Yonson (File: WGM166)
===
NAME: Scranky Black Farmer, The
DESCRIPTION: "At the top o' the Garioch, in the lands o' Leith-hall, A cranky black farmer in Earlsfield did dwall; Wi' him I engaged a servant to be...." The singer describes the weary work and the bad company; when his time is up, he intends to return to the seaside
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: work farming hardtimes
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig #89, pp. 1-2, "The Scranky Black Farmer" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 357, "The Scranky Black Farmer" (7 texts, 5 tunes)
Ord, pp. 213-214, "The Scranky Black Farmer" (1 text)
Roud #2872
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Gap o' the Garioch
At The Tap o' the Garioch
NOTES: GreigDuncan3: "The farmer is named as William Ironside at Gm 2.23dm and as Daniel Skinner at Gm 1.80c. William Ironside farmed at Earlsfield till 1863 and Daniel Skinner from then until 1882."
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Earlsfield (357) is at coordinate (h3,v5-6) on that map [roughly 28 miles WNW of Aberdeen]. - BS
File: Ord213
===
NAME: Screwing In Song
DESCRIPTION: "Before I work for a dollar a day. Down below, wey-hey, hey-hey. Grease my screws and put 'em away, Down below, wey-hey, hey-hey"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: nonballad shanty
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Smith/Hatt, p. 45, "Screwing In Song" (1 text)
Roud #9416
NOTES: Smith/Hatt: "Cargoes were pressed down ... by screws." - BS
File: SmHa045
===
NAME: Scripture in the Nursery: see Green Grow the Rushes-O (The Twelve Apostles, Come and I Will Sing You) (File: ShH97)
===
NAME: Scrubber Murphy
DESCRIPTION: "Srubber Murphy was the captain of a steamer called Mohawk, And Scurbber is the scrubber about whom all sailors talk." In 1905 Murphy took command and set the sailors cleaning. The ship has a collision, but all Murphy cares about is his dog and scrubbing
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (collected by Walton from Malcolm Graham)
KEYWORDS: sailor hardtimes wreck ship
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 92-95, "Scrubber Murphy" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Ivan Watson, "Scrubber Murphy" (fragment, 1938; on WaltonSailors)
NOTES: According to the notes in Walton/Grimm/Murdock, the recording on WaltonSailors came about because Walton was testing his recording equipment. His version seemed to be to the tune of "The Gallant Torty-Twa." - RBW
File: WGM092
===
NAME: Sea Apprentice, The
DESCRIPTION: "When I first went a sea-apprentice bound, I sailed the salt seas all round and round." The singer falls in love with Anne. The captain calls him foolish; she will take another while he is at sea. But he offers her tokens, and she promises to wait
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation sailor
FOUND_IN: Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Greig #64, p. 1, "The Apprentice Sailor" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 54, "The Apprentice Sailor" (11 texts, 8 tunes)
SHenry H739, p. 291, "The Sea Apprentice" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 107, "The Prentice Boy" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 575-578, "A Prentice Boy in Love" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Creighton-NovaScotia 139, "Prentice Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 579, PRENTICE
Roud #1671
RECORDINGS:
Robert Cinnamond, "The Apprentice Sailor" (on IRRCinnamond03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Doffin' Mistress" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
The Doffin' Mistress (File: K220)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Bonny Anne
The Apprentice Boy
The Sailor Boy
NOTES: The Digital Tradition version of this song, from Creighton, is listed as Laws M12, but it appears to be this song (Creighton also has a version of Laws M12, which may explain the confusion). - RBW.
File: HHH739
===
NAME: Sea Captain (II), The: see The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27] (File: LK27)
===
NAME: Sea Captain and the Squire, The [Laws Q12]
DESCRIPTION: The captain leaves his new bride to be seduced by a squire. The night the captain returns, all the women of the house give birth. The wife explains her state (the male servants had impregnated the maids); her captain forgives her (!) "for the joke's sake"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: seduction pregnancy separation adultery
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws Q12, "The Sea Captain and the Squire"
Combs/Wilgus 121, pp. 138-140, "There Was a Sea Captain" (1 text)
DT 734, SEACAPT SEACAPT2
Roud #947
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, APS.4.86.3, "The Sea Captain," unknown, after 1820
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A War Bird's Burlesque" (plot)
File: LQ12
===
NAME: Sea Crab, The
DESCRIPTION: A man stows a crab (lobster) in the chamber pot while his wife is asleep. She gets up to relieve herself; the crab grabs her "by the flue." He seeks to free her; the crab grabs his nose. Caught in this predicament, they send for a doctor to free them
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1620 (Percy Folio Manuscripts)
KEYWORDS: animal bawdy humorous husband injury marriage
FOUND_IN: Canada (Ont) Britain(England,Scotland) US (Ap,MA,MW,Ro,SE,So,SW)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Cray, pp. 1-4, "The Sea Crab" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 66-73, "The Sea Crab" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Sharp-100E 77, "The Crabfish" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 196, "The Crab-Fish" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 277-278, "Whiskey Johnny" (2 texts, version "D" of "Whiskey Johnny) [AbEd, p. 206]
Logsdon 52, pp. 245-248, "The Sea Crab" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, CRAYPOT, SHECRAB
ST EM001 (Full)
Roud #149
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Cod Fish Song"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Crayfish
The Fishy Crab
The Lobster
The Old She-Crab
NOTES: This is one of the oldest of English language traditional ballads. F.J. Child deliberately excluded it from his canonical ESPB, presumably because of its indelicate nature. - EC
Kennedy says of this piece, "...it seems likely to be either French in origin or in imitation of French balladry (at any rate this is a chance to disown it as an English composition)." - RBW
Sharp's version differs from the canonical one in several ways, aside from having been cleaned up. The main theme of the song is that the woman is sick, and craves the crab, so the man goes and buys one. She goes to smell it, and it bites her, then him. Same song, very different emphasis. -PJS
File: EM001
===
NAME: Sea Ghost, The: see The Sailor and the Ghost [Laws P34A/B] (File: LP34)
===
NAME: Sea Gulls and Crickets
DESCRIPTION: Famine threatens Mormon pioneers in the winter of 1849; spring brings new shoots, but crickets sweep down "like fog on a British coast." The pioneers battle them in vain, but flocks of seagulls arrive and devour the crickets; the harvest is saved
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (recording, L. M. Hilton)
KEYWORDS: rescue farming harvest disaster animal bird bug pioneer settler
FOUND_IN: US(Ro)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #10833
RECORDINGS:
L. M. Hilton, "Sea Gulls and Crickets" (on Hilton01)
File: RecSgaC
===
NAME: Sea Song (I've Seen the Sea as Blue as Air)
DESCRIPTION: The singer has seen the sea "as blue as air," "green as grass," "black as pitch," and "white as snow" but "never feared its raving yet From Yarmouth to the Bass" or "heaving yet Let the wind blow high or low"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: sea nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
GreigDuncan1 8, "Sea Song" (1 text)
Roud #5800
File: GrD1008
===
NAME: Sea-Longing: see An Iounndrain-Mhara (Sea-Longing) (File: K011)
===
NAME: Sea-Song, A: see Britannia on Our Lee (File: SWMS049)
===
NAME: Sea-Tangle, The: see An Sgeir-Mhara (The Sea-Tangle, The Jealous Woman) (File: K003)
===
NAME: Sea, The
DESCRIPTION: "The sea, the sea, the open sea, The blue, the fresh, the ever-free, Without a mark, without a bound..." "I love, oh how I love to ride On the fierce foaming bursting tide...." The old seaman looks back on a tumultuous but happy life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Journal by William Histed of the Cortes)
KEYWORDS: sailor sea nonballad age
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 63-64, "The Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2019
NOTES: To me this looks like a professional piece which Histed copied down in his journal for some reason. But Huntington's notes left me with just enough doubt to include the song here. - RBW
File: SWMS063
===
NAME: Seaboard Air Line
DESCRIPTION: "Seaboard Air Line Never on time; At half past nine Your headlight shines; In all my dreams Your whistle screams; You are the idol of my heart, Seaboard Air Line."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: train love
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 238, "Seaboard Air Line" (1 short text)
Roud #15773
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sweet Adeline" (tune)
File: Br3238
===
NAME: Seagull of the Land-Under-Waves, The: see Snow Gull (File: KFrI084)
===
NAME: Sealchie Song, The: see The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry [Child 113] (File: C113)
===
NAME: Sealer Lad, The (The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone)
DESCRIPTION: "The sealer lad from his home is gone, On board his ship you'll find him." The singer recalls the good old days of sealing, noting that now a load of seals "scarce pays Alfred's duty." He hopes the rich man at home will not longer profit
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Burke & Oliver)
KEYWORDS: hunting hardtimes
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 69, "The Sealer Lad" (1 text); compare p. 134, "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone" (1 text)
NOTES: No tune is indicated for this, but the form strongly implies "The Minstrel Boy."
Since the first publication is in Burke and Oliver's _The People's Songster, Buyers' Guide and Gems of Poetry and Prose,_ there is a good chance it's by John Burke.
The second text cited from Ryan/Small, "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice is Gone," slightly changes the occupation of the hero, and is much shorter -- but the two are clearly adaptions of each other. Either they're traditional, and one song, or, more likely, they aren't traditional, and might as well be lumped. - RBW
File: RySm069
===
NAME: Sealer's Call
DESCRIPTION: "I must go up to the ice again, To the fields of purest white." The singer, though his hair has turned white, still hears the call of the seal, and will return to the work even though the pay is small, the cold terrible, and the comforts few
AUTHOR: Solomon Samson ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (A Glimpse of Newfoundlad in Poetry and Pictures)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship travel work nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 14, "The Sealer's Call" (1 text)
NOTES: Not traditional that I can tell, and not a song either. Just one of those things editors inflict upon songbooks.
This seems clearly based on John Masefield's "Sea Fever" ("I must go down to the sea again, To the lonely sea and sky"), which has inspired other localizations as well. - RBW
File: RySm014
===
NAME: Sealer's Love Letter, A
DESCRIPTION: "Dear Miss: -- I know I can't mail this; Forgive me, it's all I can do, Out here at the ice-fields in Winter... For it's Easter good wishes I'm sending." He recalls leaving her to work as a sealer, compares their lives, and sends good wishes
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small)
KEYWORDS: love separation nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 91, "A Sealer's Love Letter" (1 text)
File: RySm091
===
NAME: Sealer's Reply to His Wife, A
DESCRIPTION: "Now that March month has come, And spring's in the air, The old seals are swimming Up North to their lair... So Maggie my darling I must leave you alone." The old sealer explains to his wife the lure of the seal hunt, and promises to stay home someday
AUTHOR: Solomon Samson?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1963 (A Glimpse of Newfoundland in Poetry and Pictures)
KEYWORDS: hunting age
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 153, "A Sealer's Reply to His Wife" (1 text)
NOTES: Explained as a 60-year-old sealer's answer when his wife tried to keep him from going to the ice. - RBW
File: RySm153
===
NAME: Sealer's Song (I)
DESCRIPTION: "The Block House Flag is up today to welcome home the stranger." The sealing fleet is returning. The ships are named, their feats recounted [how they "kill their foe"," i.e. the seals], and they go home to parties and dancing
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: bragging return hunting ship party dancing humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Doyle3, pp. 52-53, "Sealer's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, pp. 73-74, "The Sealer's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, pp. 33-34, "Sealer's Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doyl3052 (Partial)
Roud #7307
NOTES: A very widely cited song, though the author is unknown. The list of captains mentioned implies a date in the period between 1865 and 1880. For Captain William Jackman, see "Captain William Jackman, A Newfoundland Hero." Chafe reports that Captain Bowman later became a member of the House of Assembly. - RBW
File: Doyl3052
===
NAME: Sealer's Song (II), The
DESCRIPTION: "The Terra Nova, Captain Kean, With two hundred and three men, Went through the gap this morning To try their luck again." A total of 20 ships and captains set out for the ice. The singer hopes they all return safely and with large loads of seals
AUTHOR: Johnny Burke
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Ryan/Small)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship moniker nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 79, "The Sealer's Song" (1 text\)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "First Arrival -- 'Aurora' and 'Walrus' Full" (ships)
cf. "Arrival of the 'Grand Banks' and 'Virginia Lake' With Bumper Trips" (ships)
cf. "Arrival of 'Aurora,' Diana,' 'Virginia Lake' and 'Vanguard,' Loaded" (ships)
NOTES: Although this deals with the same subject, and even some of the same ships, as "The Sealer's Song (I)," the two are clearly distinct: This deals with the departure of the ship, that with their return. - RBW
File: RySm070
===
NAME: Sealer's Strike of 1902, The (The Sealers Gained the Strike)
DESCRIPTION: "Attention, all ye fishermen, and read this ballad down, And hear about the sealer's strike the other day in town." The sealers, led by "brave Colloway," unite and present their demands. A. B. Morine secures their demands
AUTHOR: probably Johnny Burke
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Murphy, Songs Sung by the Old Time Sealers of Many Years Ago)
KEYWORDS: ship hunting strike labor-movement
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 8, 1902 - Beginning of the Sealer's Strike
Mar 12, 1902 - Sealers' demands granted
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 64, "The Sealer's Strike of 1902"; p. 63, "The Sealers Gained the Strike" (2 texts); also p. 66, "The Luck Went With the Sealers Since Brave Colloway Led the Strike" (1 text, a sequel to the above)
NOTES: Although all sources for this are printed and literary, the divergences between the two texts in Ryan and Small may imply oral transmission. Murphy seemingly was unaware of the attribution to Burke. - RBW
File: RySm064
===
NAME: Sealers Gained the Strike, The: see The Sealer's Strike of 1902 (The Sealers Gained the Strike) (File: RySm064)
===
NAME: Sealers of Newfoundland, The
DESCRIPTION: "Ho! We be the Sealers of Newfoundland! We clear from a snowy shore, Out into the gale with our steam and sail...." The singer describes life on a sealing voyage, and tells how tough the sealers are -- and how they rejoice to return home
AUTHOR: George Allan England
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (England, Vikings of the Ice)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 108, "The Sealers of Newfoundland" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: RySm108
===
NAME: Sealers of Twillingate and New World Island, The
DESCRIPTION: The poet recalls the hardships faced by the sealers of 1862, then turns to the modern hunt, as SPCA planes fly overhead. He warns against actual interference with the hunt, and declares seal hunting both good commerce and a good source of food
AUTHOR: John C. Loveridge
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Loveridge, Story in Pictures and Poetry of the 1973 Seal Hunt....)
KEYWORDS: hunting animal political nonballad technology
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, pp. 150-151, "The Sealers of Twillingate and New World Island" (1 text)
NOTES: Despite this song's vicious and inflated rhetoric, seal hunting has of course been restricted in the last 30 years -- in part because of opposition from animal rights' groups, but mostly because the sealers have destroyed the seal populations, and have been forced to cut back to preserve the herds.
Seals were indeed an important food source to the Newfoundland fishermen -- and even more to the Inuit. According to Bob Bartlett (who should know; see his biography under "Captain Bob Bartlett"), "The seal is the one indispensible animal of the Arctic. The flesh is by no means disagreeable, though it has a general flavor of fish, which constitutes the seal's chief food" (see p. 54 of _The Last Voyage of the Karluk_, as told to Ralph T. Hale; published 1916; now available with a new introduction by Edward E. Leslie as _The Karluk's Last Voyage_). - RBW- RBW
File: RySm150
===
NAME: Sealers, The [Laws D10]
DESCRIPTION: Four ships set out to seal. After a four day voyage, they arrive at the ice. On their very first day they take nine hundred pelts. Having filled their quota, they head for home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: ship work hunting
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Laws D10, "The Sealers"
DT 613, SEALERS
Roud #2234
File: LD10
===
NAME: Sealers' Ball, The
DESCRIPTION: The sealers get their money at the wharf, more at the store, and "a couple of gallons" on Saturday evening. After the dance Jack Burke's girl was with Jim McGee. When their fight was over "they found the lady she'd a-gone."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: courting fight hunting shore dancing drink party humorous
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Peacock, pp. 94-95, "The Sealers' Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, pp. 123-124, "The Sealer's Ball" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Pea094 (Partial)
Roud #9957
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Be Ye Much of a Hand Aboard a Vessel
File: Pea094
===
NAME: Sealing Cruise of the Lone Flier, The
DESCRIPTION: The song chronicles the life of sealers traveling from Twillingate to St. John's then north to the ice fields for seals. Miscellaneous mishaps and achievements are told during the song and many names and factual information mentioned.
AUTHOR: (supposedly the whole crew in question)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: sea travel hunting
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 123, "The Sealing Cruise of the Lone Flier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Doyle2, pp. 14-15, "The Sealing Cruise of the Lone Flier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, pp. 76-77, "The Sealing Cruise of the Lone Flier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ryan/Small, pp. 126-128, "The Sealing Cruise of the Lone Flier" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doy14 (Partial)
Roud #7308
NOTES: The cruise in question is reported to have taken place from March 10 to April 25, 1929.
Very formulaic introduction of the "come-all-ye" variety with the singer assuring that he will neither "offend" the listener or run too long. [This even though Doyle's version runs 16 verses! - RBW] This is a very typical humble attitude of singers from Newfoundland as shown in many songs. - SH
File: Doy14
===
NAME: Sealing Fifty Years Ago
DESCRIPTION: "'Four hundred sail of shipping fine Could then be seen at anchor Awaiting time to fall in line And for a sou'west spanker." Fifty years ago, they caught 600,000 seals a year; now, they catch half as much "with hearts not half so gay."
AUTHOR: James Murphy
EARLIEST_DATE: 1901 (The Duke of York Songster and Christmas Advertiser)
KEYWORDS: hunting nonballad hardtimes recitation
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 63, "Sealing Fifty Years Ago" (1 text)
File: RySm063
===
NAME: Sealing Fleet, The
DESCRIPTION: "What means this hurrying to and fro -- This busy stirring scene? "This scene laid now before you Is not of war or strife But 'tis a fight of honest men... They go to catch the northern seal...." The sealers are described; the singer wishes them well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1861 (The Newfoundland Express)
KEYWORDS: hunting nonballad orphan
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, p. 135, "" (1 text, apparently to the tune "Garryowen")
File: RySm135
===
NAME: Sealing Trip of the S. S. Greenland 1891, The
DESCRIPTION: "All ye who love old Newfoundland And her Sons who plow the sea... I will sing to you A song about the Greenland And her hardy sailing crew." The singer praises Captain Henry Dawe, describes the efficient steamer, and tells of a good seal hunt
AUTHOR: unknown (said to be by "one of her crew")
EARLIEST_DATE: 1891 (Harbour Grace Standard)
KEYWORDS: hunting ship
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ryan/Small, pp. 35-36, "The Sealing Trip of the S. S. Greenland 1891" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: RySm035
===
NAME: Seaman and His Love, A (The Welcome Sailor) [Laws N29]
DESCRIPTION: The singer hears a girl wailing for her love, gone these seven years at sea. He offers a token from her love, saying he is dead and she should marry whoever carries it. She says she will mourn forever. The stranger reveals himself as her missing love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1620 (Stationer's Register -- apparently)
KEYWORDS: love separation brokentoken
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (9 citations)
Laws N29, "A Seaman and His Love (The Welcome Sailor)"
Gardner/Chickering 53, "A Seaman and His Love" (1 text)
SHenry H581, pp. 318-319, "The Love Token" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 530-533, "Jimmy and Nancy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 58, "Down by the Seaside" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 77, "The Valiant Seaman's Happy Return to His Love, After a Long Seven Years' Absence" (1 text, presented as traditional though it includes references to Hero and Leander, "Ulisses" and Penelope, and Dido and Aeneas. Presumably it is a broadside reworking of a traditional text, this being the best candidate for the original)
BBI, ZN2883, "When Sol could cast no light"; ZN2884, "When Sol did cast no light"
DT 763, SEAMLOVE
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; notes to #189, ("The Sailors") (1 text)
Roud #604
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 2(236a), "The Valiant Sea-Mans Happy Return to His Love, After a Long Seven Years Absence," P. Brooksby (London), 1672-1696; also Wood E 25(153), "The Valiant Sea-Mans Happy Return to His Love, After a Long Seven Years Absence"; Douce Ballads 2(237b), "The Valiant Seamans Happy Return to His Love, After a Long Seven Years Absence"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there, especially N34
SAME_TUNE:
"I Am So Deep In Love" or "Through the Cool Shady Woods" (per broadsides Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(236a), Bodleian Wood E 25(153), Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(237b))
NOTES: Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(236a) broadside seems to be the version cited above for PBB 77; the theme and some lines match Creighton-Maritime but, as the comment for PBB 77 notes, there are a lot of additional frills.
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "The Love Token" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001)) - BS
File: LN29
===
NAME: Seaman of Plymouth, The
DESCRIPTION: A sailor must go to sea before he can wed Susan. When she refuses to marry a rich man, her parents send her to Holland. The sailor, now rich, accidentally meets her; they return home; she disguises herself from her parents and they are wed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (Flanders/Brown)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: A sailor and beautiful Susan are to wed, but she becomes sick; he is forced to sail away. While he is gone, her parents try to wed her to a rich man; when she refuses, they send her to Holland. The sailor returns, having become rich, and is told she is dead. He sails away in grief, is shipwrecked in Holland, meets her, and they return home to wed. The girl arrives in disguise; her parents continue their play-acting. At last she reveals herself, and all ends happily
KEYWORDS: love courting sailor separation betrayal money disguise reunion marriage trick
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 141-147, "The Seaman of Plymouth" (1 text, 1 tune, very long and quite clumsy; there is probably a broadside version in its very recent ancestry)
ST FlBr141 (Partial)
Roud #2811
File: FlBr141
===
NAME: Seaman's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: "My seafaring comrades, attend to my lay, For death, that grim reaper, has taken away The fair Emmett Gallagher...." The Clifton leaves shore and encounters a storm. It tears open the Clifton. The singer tells of the sadness of relatives left behind
AUTHOR: Probably Frank McCauley
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932 (scrapbook of Charles C. Allers, according to Walton)
KEYWORDS: ship disaster death family
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 21/22, 1924 - Loss of the _Clilfton_
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 180-181, "The Seaman's Lament" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Clifton Tragedy" (subject: The Clifton Wreck) and references and notes there
File: WGM180
===
NAME: Seamen's Union, The
DESCRIPTION: "We are a band of seamen, A jolly, jolly crew, As ever sailed the ocean Or wore the jackets blue." "We are a band of seamen With a password and a sign (sign?)." Their banner shows shamrock, rose, and thistle. The singer offers a toast to sailors and girls
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (collected from Henry McConnell by Walton)
KEYWORDS: sailor labor-movement nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, p. 114, "The Seamen's Union" (1 short text)
File: WGM114
===
NAME: Sean a Duir a'Ghleanna
DESCRIPTION: The first verse describes an unsuccessful fox hunt: "for royalty is banished" Sean meets beautiful Anna who invites him to "take compassion" He takes off his beaver hat and, answering her invitation, introduces himself as "a Galway man by extraction"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 15(149b))
KEYWORDS: courting beauty hunting
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn 81, "Sean a Duir a'Ghleanna" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 15(149b), "John Adwire Anglanna," H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also Harding B 11(4385), "John Adwire Anglanna"; 2806 b.9(41), 2806 b.11(44), Harding B 19(42), "John O'Dwyer-a-Glana"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "After Aughrim's Great Disaster" (form)
NOTES: The name of the song in both OLochlainn and the Bodleain broadsides is from the last line: "I'm a Galway man by extraction, bred in Connamara, And [song title] they call me by name." It's easiest to find versions from the first line which is always close to "One morning I started From the arms of Morpheus."
The ornate descriptions and the ending with an introduction to a beautiful woman remind me of Thomas Moore's "Rich and Rare Were The Gems She Wore." Adding to my suspicion that there is more nationalism coded here than I understand is the OLochlainn note that 'the late Canon Sheehan wrote a fine song "After Aughrim's great disaster" founded on this ballad.'
In this connection see the Mudcat Cafe threads re "After Aughrim's Great Disaster" and "Sean O'Duibhir A Ghleanna." The text of "Sean O Duibhir An Ghleanna" ("Sean O'Dwyer of the Glen") listed there is either the source or derivative of this song and is clearly a song of desperation; the source there is Danny Spooner and Mick Farrell 'In Limbo and Other Songs and Places' Anthology AR003. The text of "After Aughrim's Great Disaster" refers to the battle of July 12, 1691: "Ah, Sean o Duibhir an Ghleanna, we were worsted in the game." - BS
File: OLoc081
===
NAME: Sean Treacy
DESCRIPTION: "We often heard our fathers tell How in the Fenian times The noblest of Tipperary's sons Imprisoned spent their lives." The police pursue Treacy; he kills two before being slain himself. The song reports, "He died for Ireland free."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (Galvin)
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion police death IRA
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Oct 14, 1920 - death of Sean Treacy (Tracey)
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
PGalvin, pp. 65-66, "Sean Treacy" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Tipperary Far Away" (subject: the death of Treacy)
cf. "The Station of Knocklong" (for other activities of Treacy)
NOTES: This English-language song conclude with the ironic words, "In our Gaelic tongue we'll tell our sons How brave Sean Treacy died."
It might be more interesting to start by telling why Treacy was pursued. According to the distinctly pro-Irish historian Calton Younger, "Two Irish policement were shot dead at Soloheadbeg, on January 21st, 1919....
"[E]ight men of the south Tipperary Brigade of what was soon to be widely known as the Irish Republican Army... lay in ambush for five days waiting for a cart of gelignite [or 'blasting gelatine' -- nitroglycerine plus collodion, a shapable high explosive created by Alfred Nobel].
"[T]he car was guarded by two unwary constables, MacDonnell and O'Connell.... [Both] were popular enough in the district. With them were two employees of the South Tipperary County Council.... [They] were shot down by Sean Treacy, second-in-command of the South Tipperary Brigade." (Younger, _Ireland's Civil War_, p. 85).
Robert Kee, in _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, p. 58, says of the reaction to this incident, "The two Irish constables, both Catholics, one a widower with four children, were very popular locally and had never had any connection with political prosecutions. Their deaths aroused widespread indication and horror, and there was a poignant moment at the inquest when one of McDonnell's sons asked if they had been given any time to surrender the explosives or if they had had a dog's chance."
It may be that the two made an attempt at resistance. But there is no question: Treacy was a terrorist. Fighting for an Irish republic, but a terrorist. In fact, in Younger's view at least, he was the prototype: "[Treacy and Dan Breen] were the first to steel themselves to kill, to acquire the kind of mentality that men must acquire to win freedom" (p. 87).
The popular reaction was less positive. Kee p. 58 adds, "The action was condemned as a crime at the masses throughout Tipperary the following Sunday and the Archbishop of Cashel in Thurles Cathedral proclaimed it an offense against the law of God.... [A]nother cleric, Monsignor Ryan, cried, 'God help poor Ireland if she follows this deed of blood.'
"Nevertheless, in spite of an offer of [a thousand pound reward], the killers were able to vanish without a trace until an even more sensational appearance three months later."
Their bloody work did have some effect. Kee, p. 59, notes, "[t]heir objects were often more successfully served by the British authorities' reaction to Volunteer exploits than by the military results of the exploits themselves." Which, of course, is exactly what happened with the Easter Rebellion, too: The Irish despised the initial rebellious act, but despised the severe British response even more.
After many months on the run for this and other incidents (see also the notes to "The Station of Knocklong" and "Tipperary Far Away"), Treacy finally died in a shoot-out with police. According to Younger, p. 121, "they had caught up with him, bringing an armoured car and two lorry loads of auxiliaries." Treacy opened fire, killing at least two of the attackers; they responded with machine gun fire, killing Treacy and two bystanders.
Younger adds that the woman "who identified his body saw that it had been impeccably laid out, and a soldier on guard gave her a lock of Treacy's hair." But Younger does not cite a single source with regard to the death of Treacy; I wonder if parts of his account, incluing the hair, might not be taken from this song and "Tipperary Far Away" (which mentions the hair business).
Kee, p. 116, adds that he "easily became a hero as legendary as Cuchulain." And yet, of eight histories I consulted, Kee is the only one to mention Treacy in three contexts (Knocklong, Soloheadbeg, and his death). One mentions Soloheadbeg and his death, two mention only Soloheadbeg (one of them mentioning him also in his role as part of the hit squad led by Michael Collins), one tells of Knocklong, and the rest don't mention him at all. - RBW
File: PGa065
===
NAME: Seanduine Doighte, An: see The Burnt-Out Old Fellow [An Seanduine Doighte] (File: K045)
===
NAME: Search and Rescue, The
DESCRIPTION: On August 14, 1955, Daniel Morris and his wife are cod fishing off Souris. The engine dies. They anchor off Cape Spry's rocks in a heavy wind. They are finally rescued by two Mounties, Leonard MacDonald, and his big engine boat.
AUTHOR: Mrs. Dan Morris
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: rescue fishing sea ship storm
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 27-29, "The Search and Rescue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12476
NOTES: Souris is in the northeast corner of Kings, Prince Edward Island. - BS
File: Dib027
===
NAME: Searching for Lambs
DESCRIPTION: A young man meets a girl and asks her where she is going. She is going to feed her father's "tender lambs." He begs her to stay with him. They court for long. (He hopes that) they marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: sheep courting marriage love
FOUND_IN: Britain(England) Ireland
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Sharp-100E 48, "Searching for Lambs" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H548, p. 341, "One Morning Clear" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 474, SRCHLAMB
ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 43, "Searching for Lambs" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LO09A (Partial)
Roud #576
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Branded Lambs" [Laws O9] (theme)
NOTES: For the rather vexed relationship of this song with "Branded Lambs" [Laws O9], see the notes to that song. - RBW
File: LO09A
===
NAME: Searching for Young Lambs: see Searching for Lambs (File: LO09A)
===
NAME: Sebastopol (Old England's Gained the Day; Capture and Destruction of Sebastopol; Cheer, Boys, Cheer)
DESCRIPTION: "Cheer lads, cheer! the enemy is quaking ... our foes we did defeat, ... Sebastopol is taken." Pellisier and Simpson lead the French and English "their cannons loud did rattle ... and the flags of France and England waved on Sebastopol."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: army battle war England France Russia shanty
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Sep 9, 1855 - Fall of Sevastopol following an 11 month siege
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Smith/Hatt, p. 31, "Old England's Gained the Day" (1 text)
Hugill, pp. 428-429, "Sebastopol" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 322-323]
ST SmHa041 (Partial)
Roud #8293
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.26(215) , "Capture and Destruction of Sebastopol" ("Cheer lads, cheer! the enemy is quaking"), A. Ryle and Co. (London), 1855?; Firth b.25(586), "Capture and Destruction of Sebastopol"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Newfoundland and Sebastopol" (subject, theme)
cf. "Cheer, Boys, Cheer!" (tune, per broadsides Bodleian Firth b.26(215) and Bodleian Firth b.25(586))
NOTES: Bodleian, Harding B 26(95), "Cheer, Boys Cheer, for the Fall of Sebastopol" ("Cheer lads cheer, for Brittannia's sons none bolder"), J. Moore (Belfast), 1846-1852 [not possible] is a similar broadside.
Smith/Hatt has this fragment as a capstan shanty. - BS
Hugill also has it as a capstan shanty, and calls it a "broken-down version of the original march, or rather of its chorus. The original march tune was known as the 'Loth-to-depart.'" - [RBW, BS]
There are quite a few other broadsides floating around called "Cheer, Boys, Cheer," celebrating other events. I haven't seen any evidence that they're traditional. Similarly, Charles Mackay wrote "Cheer Boys! Cheer! No More of Idle Sorrow," with music set by Henry Russell, but it never seems to have escaped from the straitjacket of sheet music. - RBW
File: SmHa041
===
NAME: Section Gang Song
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, captain, captain, I'm goin' away to leave you (x3), By next payday, oh captain, next payday." The singer talks of work on the section gang, complains about not being paid, and declares that he will leave
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (T. C. I. Section Crew, according to Cohen)
KEYWORDS: worksong railroading nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cohen-LSRail, p. 647, "Section Gang Song" (1 text)
Roud #17785
RECORDINGS:
T. C. I. Section Crew, "Section Gang Song" (Paramount 12478, 1927)
NOTES: According to Cohen, this is one of only two railroad worksongs released on a commercial 78 (the other being "Track Linin'," which appears to be a version of "Can'cha Line 'Em"). He thinks they may be the earliest worksong recordings of any sort. - RBW
Almost, but not quite; Robert Winslow Gordon was recording sea chanteys in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1920s" - PJS
File: LSRai647
===
NAME: See See Rider: see Easy Rider (File: LxU022)
===
NAME: See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
DESCRIPTION: Singer, dying, asks that his grave be kept clean, that his grave be dug with a silver spade, and that he be lowered with a golden chain.
AUTHOR: probably Blind Lemon Jefferson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Blind Lemon Jefferson)
KEYWORDS: death dying funeral nonballad religious floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 92, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 114-115, "Sad and Lonesome Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, p. 139, "(One Kind Favor)" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 81, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (1 partial text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 300-301, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (1 text)
Roud #7382
RECORDINGS:
[Joe] Evans & [Arthur] McClain, "Two White Horses in a Line" (Oriole 8081/Perfect 182/Romeo 5081, 1931; on BefBlues1)
Blind Lemon Jefferson, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Paramount 12608B, 1928; on AAFM3; improperly listed as "Two White Horses" on the CD reissue cover though not in the notes; also on Jefferson01, JeffersonCD01)
Mike Seeger, "Sad and Lonesome Day" (on MSeeger01)
Hobart Smith, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (on LomaxCD1704)
Ruby Vass, "Lonesome Day" (on Persis1)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Two White Horses In a Line
NOTES: In 1870, Gus Williams composed an item "See that My Grave's Kept Green"; I have no idea whether it affected this song. - RBW
I've seen the sheet music for Williams's piece, and the only thing it has in common with this song is the title phrase. The rest is a sentimentally melancholy bit of Victoriana. - PJS
For those who want to hear the song itself, there are several 78 recordings, one by Bela Lam & his Greene County Singers (OKeh 45126, 1927) and a variety by the Carter Family (as "Sad and Lonesome Day": Victor 23835, 1933; Melotone 7-04-53/Conqueror 8735, 1937; Zonophone [Australia] 4379, n.d.). - RBW, PJS
File: ADR92
===
NAME: See the Waters A-Gliding: see One Morning in May (To Hear the Nightingale Sing) [Laws P14] (File: LP14)
===
NAME: See the Woman at the Well
DESCRIPTION: "Jesus going through the land and on his way got thirsty; He stopped at the well in Canaan's land The town was called S(y)myrna." The story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, with chorus, "Oh, there's no one can love you like Jesus."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: Bible religious Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 208-211, "See the Woman at the Well" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (subject)
cf. "The Maid and the Palmer" [Child 21] (subject)
cf. "Lift Him Up That's All" (subject)
NOTES: Although this doubtless sounds like a version of "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," it appears from the lyrics that they are separate.
For the story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, see John 4:5-26. This song follows that account fairly closely except for the name of the town. John 4:5 gives the location of Jacob's Well as "Sychar" (well, a few unimportant manuscripts read something else, but none read Smyrna, a town in Asia Minor mentioned in the first two chapters of the Revelation to John). The King James Bible in any case says "Sychar." - RBW
File: ThBa208
===
NAME: See This Pretty Little Girl of Mine: see King William was King James's Son (File: R543)
===
NAME: See-Saw, Marjorie Daw
DESCRIPTION: "See, saw, Margery Daw, The old hen flew over the malt house, She counted her chickens one by one, Still she missed the little white one, And this is it, this is it, this is it."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1853 (Halliwell, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: chickens nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 337, "See-saw, Margery Daw" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #578, p. 233, "(See, saw, Margery Daw)"; cf. #622, p. 247, "(See saw, Margery Daw)"; #624, p. 248, ("See Saw, Margery Daw)"
Roud #13028
NOTES: Opie-Oxford2 has two other entries beginning "See-saw,Margery Daw, Jacky shall have a new master" [Opie-Oxford2 335] and "See-saw, Margery Daw, Sold her bed and lay upon straw" [Opie-Oxford2 336].
in 1873, T. B. Aldrich wrote a story about Marjorie Daw (who did not actually exist). I don't know if the story inspired some of the rhymes, or whether they all predate it. - RBW
File: BGMG578
===
NAME: See, See, The Cape's In View: see So It's Pass (File: CrNS056)
===
NAME: Seeds of Love, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer "sowed the seeds of love to bloom all in the spring." She asks the gardener to choose flowers for her; she does not like his offers, but chooses the rose. This in turn brings her to the willow tree
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1689 (cited in Sharp; first full text from Campbell, 1816)
KEYWORDS: gardening seduction
FOUND_IN: US(MW) Britain Australia
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Eddy 28, "Once I Had Plenty of Thyme" (2 texts, 1 tune, both texts being mixed with "In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme")
Sharp-100E 33, "The Seeds of Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 167, "The Seeds of Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 162-163, "The Red Rose Top" (1 text, 1 tune, linked by the authors to this tune, although it's so short it might be part of "In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme")
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 55, "The Seeds of Love" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune, with some words similar to "The Seeds of Love" though the only surviving verse looks more like a courting song)
MacSeegTrav 54, "The Seeds of Love" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, (THYMTH2) (RUETHYME*)
Roud #3
RECORDINGS:
George Maynard, "The Seeds of Love" (on Maynard1, Voice10)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(1657), "I Sowed the Seeds of Love ("I sowed the seeds of love it was all in the spring"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(3855)[many lines illegible; title damaged], "I Sow[ed the] Seeds [of love]"; Firth c.18(98), 2806 c.17(381), "Seeds of Love"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "In My Garden Grew Plenty of Thyme" (plot, lyrics)
cf. "The Gowans Are Gay"
cf. "The Wanton Seed" (theme)
NOTES: In flower symbolism, the rose stood for love and the willow for weeping. For a catalog of some of the sundry flower symbols, see the notes to "The Broken-Hearted Gardener." - RBW
File: K167
===
NAME: Seeing Nellie Home
DESCRIPTION: "In the sky the bright stars glittered; On the bank the pale moon shone. It was from Aunt Dinah's quilting party I was seeing Nellie home." The singer professes his love for Nellie on the way. Evidently they get married, because they are now old together
AUTHOR: Words: F. Kyle / Music: John Fletcher
EARLIEST_DATE: 1856 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: love courting age party
FOUND_IN: US(MW,SE)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Dean, p. 79, "Seeing Nellie Home" (1 text)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 229-232, "When I Saw Sweet Nellie Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 289, "Seeing Nelly Home" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 254, "Seing Nellie Home (Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party)" (1 text)
DT, NELLHOME
ST RJ19229 (Full)
Roud #5492
RECORDINGS:
Floyd County Ramblers, "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party" (Victor V-40331, 1930; Bluebird B-5107, 1933)
Haydn Quartet, "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party" (Victor 2456, 1903)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Seeing Nellie Home" (Brunswick 199, 1928; rec. 1927)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party
NOTES: The early history of this song is slightly confused. It first appeared in 1856, but evidently in an unauthorized edition perhaps taken from a minstrel troupe performance.
In 1859 the composer, John Fletcher, issued an official edition -- complete with complaints about the previous editions. Yet in this text Nelly was not brought home from "Aunt Dinah's quilting party" but "from an august evening party." Jackson thinks this an error; it strikes me as possible that this was a deliberate change intended to differentiate the editions. Even stranger, the cover of the 1859 edition calls the girl "Nellie," but inside she is "Nelly." One can only suppose that neither she nor her swain could read too well.
Even the name of the author varies; the 1856 edition calls her(?) Frances Kyle; the 1859 edition omits the name; in 1884 the name is given variously as Frances and Francis. - RBW
File: RJ19229
===
NAME: Seeing Nelly Home: see Seeing Nellie Home (File: RJ19229)
===
NAME: Seeing the Elephant (When I Left the States for Gold)
DESCRIPTION: "When I left the states for gold, Everything I had I sold." The singer encounters various troubles (and Mormons) on the way west, and warns, "Leave, you miners leave... Take my advice, kill off your lice...." (To the tune of "De Boatman Dance")
AUTHOR: Words: David Robinson? John A. Stone?/Music: Daniel Decatur Emmett
EARLIEST_DATE: 1912 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: travel hardtimes gold warning
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Belden, p. 347, "When I Left the States for Gold" (1 text)
Roud #7773
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "De Boatman Dance" (tune)
NOTES: The history of this is a bit obscure. It was David "Doc" Robinson who founded the "Seeing the Elephant" show in San Francisco in 1850. But this song, to the tune of "De Boatman Dance," appeared in _Put's Original California Songster_. I can't tell whether Put worked on something Robinson wrote, or just commemorated his performances. - RBW
File: Beld347
===
NAME: Seek Not from Whence Love She Came
DESCRIPTION: The singer loves a colleen who's "happy in old Donegal." "Her figure is proper and tall,' her voice is "sweeter by far than the songbird." Singer says "I know she's an angel, And I'm not going to tell you her name." Soon they will marry.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1980 (IRHardySons)
KEYWORDS: courting Ireland nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #17897
RECORDINGS:
Mary Anne Connelly, "Seek Not from Whence Love She Came" (on IRHardySons)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Pride of Kilkee" (motif: hiding a sweetheart's name) and references there
cf. "Tons of Bright Gold" (motif: hiding a sweetheart's name) and references there
File: RcSNWLSC
===
NAME: Seimidh Eoghainin Duibh (Dark-Haired Jimmy Owen)
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the fine clothing she would place on Jimmy Owen. She says how the girls would fight over him. She wishes he had been in battle with O'Donnell. She looks back on the days of a united Ireland, and thinks that Jimmy would have been king
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1962 (collected by Peter Kennedy)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love clothes beauty royalty
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1598 - The Tyrone/O'Donnell Rebellion
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Kennedy 46, "Seimidh Eoghainin Duibh (Dark-Haired Jimmy Owen)" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Kennedy describes this as "an entirely local song from west Donegal" (though the tune is known in Scotland). He is probably right; I've never seen any other versions. But the band Scartaglen (the group in which Connie Dover got her start) recorded a version, apparently derived from Kennedy, so I thought we should include the song just because people might look it up.
For the background on the rebellion referred to in this song, see the notes to "O'Donnell Aboo (The Clanconnell War Song)." - RBW
File: K046
===
NAME: Seizure of the E J Horton: see The E. A. Horton [Laws D28] (File: LD28)
===
NAME: Selling the Cow: see The Crafty Farmer [Child 283; Laws L1] (File: C283)
===
NAME: Seno Wreck, The: see The C. & O. Wreck (1913) [Laws G4] (File: LG04)
===
NAME: Serafina
DESCRIPTION: Halyard shanty. "In Callyo there lives a girl named Serafina" who works very hard drinking, smoking, and robbing sailors of their money and clothes.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty bawdy whore warning robbery trick
FOUND_IN: West Indies South America
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hugill, pp. 397-398. "Serafina" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 302-303]
DT, SERAFINA*
NOTES: Hugill says this is a "notorious" shanty from the west coast of South America, but this was the first time it had been printed because it was so hard to clean up. - SL
File: Hugi397
===
NAME: Sergeant Neill
DESCRIPTION: "If you want your praties sprayed, well you can call on Sergeant Neill. Oh he's the bot that'll do it well, and he'll not destroy your kale." Many of Neill's satisfied customers are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire)
KEYWORDS: farming moniker
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Maguire 12, pp. 29-30,105,160, "Sergeant Neill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2921
NOTES: Morton-Maguire: In County Fermanagh [ex-police] Sergeant Neill had a spraying machine for bluestone, a potato fungicide. Everyone called on him to do their spraying. "John tells me that it was sometime in the early 1920s that Sergeant Neill began his business enterprise." - BS
For more on bluestone, see the notes to "Mary Anne McGuinan." Given the date, one wonders if Neill wasn't a former member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Must have been quite a change of pace. - RBW
File: MoMa12
===
NAME: Sergeant Small
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I wish I were about fourteen stone And only six foot tall. I'd take the train back north, Just to beat up Sergeant Small."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: train police railroading
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 209, "Sergeant Small" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Meredith's informant, Muriel Whalan, explained that Sergeant Small made a minor career during the depression of posing as a bagman in order to catch other travellers riding the rods of trains. - RBW
File: MA209
===
NAME: Sergeant Tally-Ho
DESCRIPTION: Singer boasts of his travels; he's courted all over America, England, France and Spain. The colonel's wife, hearing of his prowess, wishes to see "the naked truth", so he pulls out his "lusty pin;" she says, "You shall be my handy man."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (recording, Warde Ford)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer boasts of his wide travels, saying he's courted all over America, England, France and Spain. The colonel's wife, having heard of his prowess, wishes to see "the naked truth", so he pulls out his "lusty pin" as she leads him to the bedroom, saying, "You shall be my handy man." And, frustratingly, there the only recorded version of the song ends.
KEYWORDS: sex bragging request army travel bawdy
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Sargeant Tally-Ho" (AFS 4100 B1, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
NOTES: I've not seen this anywhere else, and neither has Ed Cray. The magnificent tune is distinctly British-sounding. - PJS
File: RcSTH
===
NAME: Sergeant, He Is the Worst of All, The
DESCRIPTION: "The sergeant, the sergeant he is the worst of all; He gets us up in the morning before the early call, With squads right, and squads left, and left front into line; Then the slimy son of a gun, he gives us double time."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: army soldier
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, p. 435, "The Sergeant, He Is the Worst of All" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: San435
===
NAME: Sergeant's Lamentation, The
DESCRIPTION: The Sergeant of Grouse Hall answers the hackler's song. He rejects its accusations but acknowledges that the song is "the source of all my grief and shame." "This curst Grouse Hall caused my downfall" He would know the song writer before he leaves.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (OLochlainn)
KEYWORDS: prison drink Ireland humorous police
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn 39A, "The Sergeant's Lamentation" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3070
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Hackler from Grouse Hall" (prequel to this ballad)
cf. "Moses Ritoora-li-ay" (theme)
NOTES: "The hackler was a distiller of high quality Poitin in 19th century Ireland" (source: Hearing before Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, US Patent and Trademark Office, January 6, 2000 in re United Distillers plc "On December 16, 1996 United Distillers plc filed an intent-to-use application to register the mark HACKLER on the Principal Register for 'alcoholic beverages, namely, distilled spirits, except Scotch whisky, and liqueurs.'....)
Apparently the more common definition is "one that hackles [to chop up or chop off roughly]; esp: a worker who hackles hemp, flax, or broomcorn." (source: _Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged_, 1976); its this last definition that OLochlainn follows.
OLochlainn notes to "The Hackler from Grouse Hall" and its answer, "The Sergeant's Lamentation," explain the Sergeant's deeds and the references to people named in both songs and happenings in County Cavan. His source for notes is the singer.
The occurrences appear to be during Arthur Balfour's tour as Chief Secretary of Ireland in the late 1880s [1887-1891; his repressive methods earned him the nickname "Bloody Balfour" - RBW]. See for example the reference to the 1888 imprisonment of Father McFadden of Donegal in Derry Prison "for an agrarian speech" (source: Chapters of Dublin History site, _Letters and Leaders of my Day_ Chapter XXII "Parnellism and Crime" (1887-8), by T.M. Healy). I'd guess, no doubt naively, that the issue here is moonshining to defeat high alcohol taxation. - BS
The other possibility for the date is 1902-1905, when Balfour was prime minister in succession to his uncle Lord Salisbury. Gladstone's proposals for Irish Home Rule had of course failed, but the issue never entirely went away, and the Liberals were increasingly in favor of it in the early twentieth century.
Supporting this dating is the fact that, during the Balfour administration, there was a movement for "tariff reform" -- i.e. lowering of duties within the British Empire, which would have made it easier for the Irish to export to England. Balfour tried to calm the controversy, but succeeded mostly in turning his party purely protectionist, thus making the Liberals even more popular with the Irish, since they were more likely to favor both Home Rule and Free Trade. So the song might well look forward to the 1906 election which shunted the Conservatives from power. - RBW
File: OLoc039A
===
NAME: Sergent, Le
DESCRIPTION: Canadian French: The young boy runs off to America to fight the hated British. He joins the army and is made a sergeant, but is wounded and returns home. His father, who warned him against leaving, says "I told you so!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961
KEYWORDS: soldier injury home Canada foreignlanguage
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1775-1776: American attack on Canada. The chief battle of the campaign was fought outside Quebec on December 31, 1775
FOUND_IN: Canada
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fowke/Mills/Blume, pp. 60-61, "Le Sergent" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: During the American Revolution, the Colonials made an abortive attack on Canada, thinking that the French inhabitants would rebel against the British. It didn't happen; the French generally preferred the British (who at least guaranteed their religious liberty) to the unknown quantity that was the Americans. The Colonial assault failed before Quebec.
A few Canadians, however, decided they hated the British enough to return south with the Colonials and fight. As this song shows, those who stayed at home felt these soldiers to be more than a little foolish. - RBW
File: FMB060
===
NAME: Servan' Lasses, The: see The Braw Servant Lasses (File: Ord275)
===
NAME: Servant Man: see The Rejected Lover [Laws P10] (File: LP10)
===
NAME: Serves Them Fine
DESCRIPTION: Singer tells how back in 1920, "The mills ran good and everyone had plenty;" in 1925, mountain people came to work there. Now it's 1930, and more people are unemployed than working. Singer tells fellow mountaineers to go back home and live as they used to
AUTHOR: Dave McCarn
EARLIEST_DATE: 1931 (recording, David McCarn)
KEYWORDS: warning factory unemployment hardtimes
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 234-235, "Serves Them Fine" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
David McCarn, "Serves 'em Fine" (Victor 23577, 1931)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Serves Them Fine" (on NLCR09) (NLCR12)
NOTES: Mountain people moved to industrial towns in the boom of the 1920s, as the agricultural economy was already depressed; many of them were then stranded when the Depression hit industry. - PJS
File: CSW234
===
NAME: Set Down, Servant
DESCRIPTION: "'Set down, servant.' I can't set down... my soul's so happy that I can't set down." The servant describes the various things God promises: A long white robe, a starry crown, a golden waistband, etc. An angel is instructed to supply all these
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1947
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Lomax-FSUSA 105, "Set Down, Servant" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 584-585, "Set Down, Servant" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 367, "Set Down, Servant" (1 text)
Roud #10076
File: LxU105
===
NAME: Set You Down, My Own True Love: see The False Young Man (The Rose in the Garden, As I Walked Out) (File: FJ166)
===
NAME: Settin' on a Rail
DESCRIPTION: "As I went out by the light of the moon... Thar I spies a fat raccoon A-settin' on a rail." The singer pulls the coon off a rail and fights with it. In at least one version, the singer is a slave who helps his master on toward death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal fight slave
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 177-179, "Settin' on a Rail" (2 texts, 1 tune)
ST ScNF177B (Partial)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Davy Crockett" (lyrics)
NOTES: This shares a first line with a few versions of "Davy Crockett," which also involves a bare-hands fight with a coon -- but the overall form and feel is different enough that I think they're separate song which has cross-fertilized a little. - RBW
File: ScNF177B
===
NAME: Settin' Side that Road
DESCRIPTION: "I'm settin' side that road with a ball and chain on my leg (x2), If I had my way I'd catch-a that westbound train." "That judge gave me six months because I didn't want to work (x3)."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1966
KEYWORDS: work prison
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scott-BoA, pp. 314-315, "Settin' Side that Road" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: SBoA314
===
NAME: Settler's Lament, The (The Beautiful Land of Australia)
DESCRIPTION: "Now all intent to emigrate, Come listen to the doleful fate...." The singer sailed for Australia, was wrecked, was spared by cannibals as too thin, and had his sheep die of rot. Coming home, he will sell matches before returning to Australia
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1854 (John Henderson's _Excursions and Adventures in New South Wales_)
KEYWORDS: emigration humorous hardtimes cannibalism return
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 101-105, "The Settler's Lament" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The King of the Cannibal Islands" (tune)
File: PFS101
===
NAME: Seven Blessings of Mary, The: see The Seven Joys of Mary (File: FO211)
===
NAME: Seven Brethren, The: see Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007)
===
NAME: Seven Brothers, The: see Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007)
===
NAME: Seven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat
DESCRIPTION: The cotton farmer complains about dreadful prices; with "Seven cent cotton and forty cent meat, How in the world can a poor man eat?" With everything he has wearing out, replacements are too expensive. (He sees improvements under Roosevelt)
AUTHOR: Bob Miller & Emma Dermer
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Bob Ferguson)
KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes food clothes farming political money
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 877-878, "Seven-Cent Cotton and Forty-Cent Meat" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 117, "Seven Cent Cotton And Forty Cent Meat" (1 text)
DT, SVNCENT*
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "Eleven Cent Cotton" (Victor V-40050, 1929; Bluebird B-8406, 1940) (Harmony 821-H [as Mack Allen], 1929; rec. 1928) (Edison N-20001, 1929)
Bob Ferguson, "Eleven Cent Cotton, Forty Cent Meat, pts. 1 & 2" (Columbia 15297-D, 1928)
Bob Miller, "'Leven Cent Cotton And Forty Cent Meat" (Radiex 5044, c. 1929); "Eleven Cent Cotton And Forty Cent Meat" (Okeh 45475, 1930)
Carson Robison, "'Leven Cent Cotton, Forty Cent Meat" (Champion 15746, 1929) (Pathe Actuelle 32438/Cameo 9092 [both as Carson Robison's Trio], 1929)
Pete Seeger, "Seven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat" (on PeteSeeger13, AmHist1)
Hank Smith [pseud. for Al Bernard] "Eleven Cent Cotton and Forty Cent Meat" (Vocalion 5318, 1929)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Flies Are On the Tummits" (theme of poor living for farmers)
NOTES: The 1928 recording by Bob Ferguson (recorded in August of that year) might seem to throw doubt on the authorship claim of Bob Miller. But his recording is on Radiex, part of the Grey Gull family of records, and dating those records is notoriously difficult and uncertain. For the moment, though, I've assigned the Earliest Date to the Ferguson recording, as it's the earliest for which we have unambiguous information.
Also, there's some ambiguity about Miller's 1930 OKeh recording; one source lists the title as "Four Cent Tobacco and Forty Cent Meat.
Interesting that most of these recordings appeared in 1928-1929, just *before* the stock market crash that most urbanites see as the beginning of the Great Depression. But times had been hard on the farms for several years before then. - PJS
And, of course, demand for recordings fell dramatically after the crash, so nobody was producing new versions.
Incidentally, low cotton prices were not a new phenomenon, and neither were wild price fluctuations. According to Allan Nevins, _The Ordeal of the Union: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-1852_ [volume I of _The Ordeal of the Union_] (Scribners, 1947), p. 242, cotton in 1845 sold in the American south for sixteen cents a pound. By 1848, when the total production was half again as large, the price dropped to a mere four and a half cents a pound.
It is interesting to see this song become so popular in folk circles, because Bob Miller was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter. According to Doug deNatale and Glenn Hinson, "The Southern Textile Song Tradition Reconsidered," published in Archie Green, editor, _Songs about Work: Essays in Occupational Culture for Richard A. Reuss_, Folklore Institute, Indiana University, 1993, p. 81, his other occupation songs were generally not accepted by the fok. - RBW
File: BAF877
===
NAME: Seven Gypsies in a Row: see The Gypsy Laddie [Child 200] (File: C200)
===
NAME: Seven Gypsies on Yon Hill: see The Gypsy Laddie [Child 200] (File: C200)
===
NAME: Seven Irishmen, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer warns of what happened to seven Irishmen who sailed to America. They land in New York. They are tricked into the Army. They fight the soldiers who would train them. A "gentleman from Ohio" comes to their aid
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1973 (Sing Out!)
KEYWORDS: Ireland soldier emigration fight Civilwar
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 22, #1 (1973), p, 3, "The Seven Irishmen" (1 text, 1 tune, the Joe Heaney version)
Roud #3104
NOTES: The notes in Sing Out! say that "60% of the Union Army was Irish or of Irish descent and 30% of the Confederate Army." It is true that the Civil War army had a lot of Irishmen -- but there weren't enough Irishmen in America to supply 60% of the Union army! (This would call for roughly 1.25 million Irishmen of military age in the North alone. That's out of a total population -- men, women, children, and the elderly -- of 22 million).
I suspect there is more going on here than the Irish singer understood. Many Irishmen, it is true, were recruited "off the docks" as they came to America (see "By the Hush" for an example of this). But the song seems to describe something like taking the King's Shilling (Lincoln's Shilling?). This would not be normal -- bounties flowed freely at the end of the war, but they were cash, not drink.
My guess is that the men were recruited not by army officials but by a substitute broker -- the Union draft allowed a man who was drafted to recruit another man to take his place -- a "substitute." The substitute broker was a man who swept the streets and alleys to find someone to sell to the reluctant conscript. The substitutes so hired were notorious for their lack of suitability -- many were drunks or cripples, and the substitute brokers would bribe doctors or recruiting officers to get them in.
The "gentleman from Ohio" who seeks to get them off is also interesting. I have to think this is Clement L. Vallandigham (1820-1871), a lifelong Ohioan who became a congressman in the late 1850s and argued strenuously for States Rights. He was the foremost "Copperhead" (Democrat who favored letting the South leave the Union) -- his opinions were so strong that he was for a time imprisoned, and at another time exiled to the Confederacy. Many "Peace Democrats" simply didn't think it was proper to fight the South, but Vallandingham, by the end, seemed actively pro-Southern; it would be no surprise to find him doing whatever he could to weaken the Union armies.
Adding it all up, I suspect that, somewhere behind this song, there is a political text. What, I do not know. - RBW
File: SOv22n1a
===
NAME: Seven Joys of Mary, The
DESCRIPTION: The carol relates the (five, seven, nine) joys that Mary had: bearing Jesus, raising him, seeing his success and miracles, observing his crucifixion and resurrection, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1833 (Sandys)
KEYWORDS: carol Jesus religious
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,NE) Canada(Mar) Britain(England) Ireland
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 211-213, "The Seven Joys of Mary" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp.275-278 , "The Joys of Mary"; "The Blessings of Mary" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 172-173, "The Blessings of Mary" (1 text, 1 tune)
OBB 105, "The Twelve Good Joys" (1 text)
OBC 70, "Joys Seven" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 135, "The Twelve Joys" (1 text)
BrownII 51, "The Twelve Blessings of Mary" (1 text)
Lomax-FSNA 123, "The Seven Blessings of Mary" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 363, "The Seven Blessings of Mary" (1 text)
DT, SEVNJOYS* SEVNJOY2
ADDITIONAL: Bell/O Conchubhair, Traditional Songs of the North of Ireland, pp. 107-110, "Seacht Suailci Na Maighdine Muire" ("The Seven Beatitudes of the Virgin Mary") [Gaelic and English]
Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #76, "The First Good Joy that Mary Had" (1 text)
Roud #278
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce adds. 137(19), "The Seven Joys," T. Bloomer (Birmingham), 1817-1827; also Harding B 7(34), Johnson Ballads 2833, Douce adds. 137(61), Harding B 7(28), Harding B 7(7), Harding B 7(66), Firth b.27(211), "The Seven Joys"; Harding B 7(65), Harding B 7(63), Harding B 7(30), "The Joys"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Joys Seven
NOTES: The notion of counting Mary's joys apparently goes back to at least the fourteenth century. In the liturgical poem "Marie Moder, Wel Thee Be!" we find a reference to Mary's "joyes five" (poem known from some fifty texts. For full text see MS. Rawlinson liturgical g.2. or the printing as #46 in Stevick-100MEL).
Although the number of joys in traditional texts runs as high as twelve, and French Books of Hours reportedly standardized on fifteen (see [Tamara Voronova and Andrei Sterligov], _Western European Illuminated Manuscripts, 8th to 16th centuries_, English version, Sirrocco, 2006, p. 100), I suspect the original had about seven. This is because so many of the joys in the long texts are forced, even unbiblical. We can demonstrate this point by marching down the joys compiled in Brown and Cox:
One -- To think that her son Jesus Was God's eternal son: Luke 1:15
Two -- Could read the Bible through. Luke 2:46-47 shows Jesus, as a boy, discussing scripture, but it doesn't say he read it. It's likely enough that he could read, though; most Jewish children could, and Luke 4:17fff. shows him reading from Isaiah.
Three -- Could make the blind to see. Repeated references to this; the most primitive is perhaps in Mark 8:22-30.
Four -- Could turn the rich to poor. No known Biblical evidence of this. James 5:1 says "Your riches have rotted," and Jesus has warnings for the rich (e.g. the Wise Fool, Luke 12:16-21), but we don't see Jesus doing anything about it, unless it's a reference to cleansing the Temple (Mark 11:15-17, etc.)
Five -- Could make the dead alive. See, e.g., the raising of Lazarus, John 11.
Six: -- Brown (cf. Cox) "Heal the lame and sick." Numerous examples. But we also see "bear the crucifix," which is complicated. John says he bore his own cross (John 19:17), but the other gospels say Simon of Cyrene bore it (Mark 15:21, etc.)
Seven -- Carried the keys of heaven. Not biblical, and of course the issue of who will be saved is a controversial one.
Eight -- Brown: "Make the crooked straight. Cox: "Open the gates of heaven." Obviously an attempt to force an explanation
Nine -- Turn water to wine. The wedding at Cana, John 2.
Ten -- Brown: "Was a friend to sinful men." Compare the sinner washing Jesus's feet, Luke 7:37-50, etc. Cox: "Could write without a pen." Perhaps a reference to John 8:6 (a passage not found in the earliest manuscripts), but singularly inept in any case.
Eleven -- Could open the gates of heaven. Haven't we been here before?
Twelve -- Brown: "Came down to earth to dwell." Basic doctrine. Cox: "Done all things well." Allusion to Mark 7:37 or parallel. - RBW
The Bell/O Conchubhair melody is not the one I know but O Conchubhair's notes make the connection. Here the seven joys are (1) That she bore Him in a lowly byre (2) That she travelled with Him along the road (3) That He'd gone by reading His book (4) When he turned the water into wine (5) When He made the dead to live (6) When He redeemed the world with his blood (7) When He raised her to heaven alive. - BS
File: FO211
===
NAME: Seven Long Years (II): see My Father Gave Me a Lump of Gold (Seven Long Years) (File: R834)
===
NAME: Seven Long Years (III): see The Prisoner's Song (File: FSC100)
===
NAME: Seven Long Years (IV): see For Seven Long Years I've Been Married (File: RcFSLYBM)
===
NAME: Seven Long Years I've Been Married: see For Seven Long Years I've Been Married (File: RcFSLYBM)
===
NAME: Seven Long Years in State Prison: see The Prisoner's Song (I) (File: FSC100)
===
NAME: Seven Old Ladies
DESCRIPTION: Seven old ladies, to the tune of "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be," encounter various difficulties in the lavatory.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: humorous scatological age derivative
FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England) US(MA,SW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Cray, pp. 119-122, "Seven Old Ladies" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SEVENOLD*
Roud #10227
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be" (tune & meter)
File: EM119
===
NAME: Seven Sailor Boys, The: see Willie o Winsbury [Child 100] (File: C100)
===
NAME: Seven Sleepers, The: see Earl Brand [Child 7] (File: C007)
===
NAME: Seven Virgins, The (The Leaves of Life)
DESCRIPTION: The singer, (Thomas), meets seven virgins, including the Virgin Mary. They are seeking Jesus, who is being crucified. Mary asks Jesus why he must suffer so; Jesus tells her it is for the sake of humanity. He dies. The singer commends God's charity
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1847
KEYWORDS: Bible Jesus religious dialog
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(West))
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Leather, pp. 187-188, "The Seven Virgin, or, Under the Leaves" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
OBB 111, "The Seven Virgins" (1 text)
OBC 43, "The Seven Virgins" (1 text, 1 tune)
PBB 4, "The Seven Virgins" (1 text)
DT, SVNVIRG SVNVRG2
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #479, "The Seven Virgins" (1 text)
Roud #127
RECORDINGS:
May Bradley, "Under the Leaves" (on Voice11)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Tam Lin" [Child 39] (tune)
NOTES: The details here are generally from the Gospel of John. Only in John is Mary present at the cross, and John is the only gospel in which Thomas has a speaking role (though he was popular in the Apocryphal Gospels). Jesus's last words ("sweet mother, now I die," or similar) are perhaps closer to the fourth gospel ("it has been finished/completed/perfected," 19:30) than any of the other gospels.
In addition, Jesus's instruction to his mother to take John as her son is found only in the fourth gospel (John 19:26-27, though in fact the disciple involved is not named there; in fact, John is not even mentioned in the fourth gospel, though he is widely believed to be the "beloved disciple" referred to in chapter 19).
One might note that there was a legend that John and his brother James were Mary's nephews and Jesus's first cousins. - RBW
File: OBB111
===
NAME: Seven Years: see The Maid and the Palmer [Child 21] (File: C021)
===
NAME: Seven Years I Loved a Sailor: see Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] (File: LN42)
===
NAME: Seven Years in Dublin
DESCRIPTION: "My parents reared me tenderly I being their only heir, I lived with my grandmother, Of me she took great care, Seven years in Dublin I was taught in the academy, My learning might have served a knight Or a lord of high degree"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960 (Creighton-SNewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: home
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 108, "Seven Years in Dublin" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #2781
NOTES: The current description is all of the Creighton-SNewBrunswick fragment. - BS
File: CrSNB108
===
NAME: Seven Years O'er Young
DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in between twa bonnie woods and valleys Where I and my love aye met so rare" that the man asks the singer if she will wed. She says she is "seven years o'er young to wed." But he finally lures her into his arms, then says he has another love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: courting sex abandonment
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 170-171, "Seven Years O'er Young" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #380
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Pretty Little Miss" [Laws P18] (plot)
NOTES: This is a bit of a problem song. Roud lumps it with "Pretty Little Miss" [Laws P18]. I have to wonder if MacColl and Seeger's "Too Young" might not also be this. This song has effectively the same plot as Laws P18, but no similarity in lyrics. Laws, however, admits that P18 is textually unstable.
The only additional point is that Laws does not cite this song with P18 (or anything else, e.g. P19, "Tripping o'er the Lea," which also has some contact with this song). On that basis, I split them -- but it's a very uncertain question, and readers probably need to study the matter carefully. - RBW
File: Ord170
===
NAME: Seven Yellow Gipsies, The: see The Gypsy Laddie [Child 200] (File: C200)
===
NAME: Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17]
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a pretty young girl. He gets acquainted by asking questions: "What are you doing?" "Where do you live?" "How old are you?" "May I visit you tonight?" She agrees to the meeting; they have their fun despite her mother's opposition
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (Burns)
KEYWORDS: questions courting nightvisit
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond,North,South),Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Laws O17, "Seventeen Come Sunday"
Eddy 74, "My Pretty Maid" (2 texts)
Warner 52, "Hi Rinky Dum" (1 text, 1 tune, much worn down; there is no nightvisit, and the two mutually decide against marriage)
BrownIII 11, "Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid" (2 texts, both very short)
Lomax-FSNA 106, "How Old Are You, My Pretty Little Miss?" (1 text, 1 tune -- a badly eroded version)
FSCatskills 128, "Where Are You Going, My Pretty Fair Maid?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 164-165, "I'm Scarce Sixteen Come Sunday" (1 text plus 2 fragments, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 32, "I'm Seventeen Come Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 16, "Seventeen Come Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 284-286, "I'll Be Seventeen Come Sunday" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
SharpAp 127, "I'm Seventeen Come Sunday" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Sharp-100E 61, "I'm Seventeen Come Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 126, "My Pretty Maid" (1 text)
JHCoxIIA, #25, pp. 99-100, "The Modesty Answer" (1 text, 1 tune, in which the girl asks her mother if she may marry, is refused, and decides to run away to North Carolina and eat cream and honey!)
SHenry H152, pp. 266-267, "I'm Seventeen 'gin Sunday"; H793, pp. 267-268, "As I Gaed ower a Whinny Knowe";(2 texts, 2 tunes)
MacSeegTrav 44, "Seventeen Come Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 99-102, "My Rolling Eye" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 128-129, "Seventeen Come Sunday"; "When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells" (1 text plus a fragment)
DT 334, YONHIGH* ROCKYMT (TROOPRM2* -- apparently a cross between this piece and Child 299)
ADDITIONAL: Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 45, 'Seventeen Come Sunday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #277
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "Seventeen Come Sunday" (on HCox01)
Mary Delaney, "New Ross Town" (on IRTravellers01)
Seamus Ennis, "As I Roved Out" (on FSB1)
Bob Hart, "Seventeen Come Sunday" (on Voice10)
Joe Heaney, "Who Are You, My Pretty Fair Maid" (on Voice01)
Ken Peacock, "I'll be Seventeen Come Sunday" (on NFKPeacock)
Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson, "Where Are You Going?" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchiteWatsonCD1)
Tony Wales, "Seventeen Come Sunday" (on TWales1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.34(67), "Seventeen Come Sunday," J. Paul and Co. (London), 1838-1845; also Johnson Ballads 547, Firth b.34(264), Firth c.14(204), Harding B 11(690), "Seventeen Come Sunday"; Harding B 11(1732), "I'm Seventeen Come Sunday"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rolling in the Dew (The Milkmaid)"
cf. "The Overgate" (tune, theme)
cf. "Courting the Widow's Daughter (Hard Times)" [Laws H25] (plot)
cf. "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" (floating lyrics, some tunes)
cf. "I Love My Love (I) (As I Cam' Owre Yon High High Hill)" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sixteen Come Sunday
Flash Girls and Airy Too
NOTES: There are versions of this song which have mixed with "Trooper and Maid" [Child 299]; these generally file under that ballad and are sometimes known as "As I Roved Out." The Sam Henry text "My Darling Blue-Eyed Mary" has lost the key question about the girl's age, but the rest is clearly this song. - RBW
Also collected and sung by David Hammond, "As I Roved Out" (on David Hammond, "I Am the Wee Falorie Man: Folk Songs of Ireland," Tradition TCD1052 CD (1997) reissue of Tradition LP TLP 1028 (1959)) - BS
File: LO17
===
NAME: Seventy-Two Today: see I'm Seventy-Two Today" (File: R433)
===
NAME: Sewing Machine, The
DESCRIPTION: A soldier visits "the Heidelberg whore." He has sex with her, that is, he sews on her "sewing machine," and ends up cursing her for giving him "the clap and the blue-balls too."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: Prob. 1940s (recording by unknown artist) but may be earlier
KEYWORDS: bawdy disease curse soldier
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 406-407, "The Sewing Machine" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10406
RECORDINGS:
Unknown artist, "The Sewing Machine" (Party Platters 332a, n.d.)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fire Ship" (plot) and references there
cf. "Charlotte the Harlot I, II, III, IV"
NOTES: The reference to the Heidelberg whore suggests this song or version dates from the post World War II occupation of Germany. [It was] probably inspired by "Charlotte the Harlot." - EC
I'm not sure about placing this song during the occupation of Germany. The [Party Platters] record cited above doesn't mention the Heidelberg Whore, and it *may* be prewar. It'd be good to have a date for it. - PJS
File: EM406
===
NAME: Sexual Life of the Camel, The
DESCRIPTION: A sophisticated exposition of the supposed mating habits of the "Clipper Ship of the Desert" -- added comments about the homosexual proclivities of naval personnel, hedgehogs, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and Cambridge.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous animal homosexuality
FOUND_IN: Australia Britain(England) US(MW,SW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Cray, pp. 243-245, "The Sexual Life of the Camel" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #10122
File: EM243
===
NAME: Sgeir-Mhara, An (The Sea-Tangle, The Jealous Woman)
DESCRIPTION: Scots Gaelic. A woman weaves a tangle of gold to bind another by the water. The bound woman awakes to find herself in danger of drowning. She begs for pity, but finds none, for her or her babes; the other will sleep with her man that night
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Kennedy-Fraser)
KEYWORDS: jealousy murder drowning children foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Kennedy 3, "A Bhean Iadach (The Jealous Woman)" (1 text+English translation, 1 tune)
Kennedy-Fraser II, pp. 55-63, "The Sea-Tangle, or, The Sisters (An Sgeir-Mhara)" (1 text+English translation, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Twa Sisters [Child #10]" (plot)
cf. "The Ghost's Bride" (theme)
NOTES: The Kennedy and Kennedy-Fraser texts between them parallel almost the entire plot of "The Twa Sisters": Kennedy's text is the exchange between the jealous sisters, while Kennedy-Fraser is a tale of the murder attempt. The two have only slight overlap, but it seems clear they are fragments of a longer item.
If the references in Kennedy are to be believed (and they often aren't), this must be one of the most popular songs in the Hebrides; he lists fifteen versions from as far afield as Nova Scotia. - RBW
File: K003
===
NAME: Sh-Ta-Ra-Dah-Dey (Snagging the Klacking)
DESCRIPTION: "Sh-ta-ra-dah-dey, sh-ta-dey, Times is mighty hard. A dollar a day is all they pay For work on the boulevard." Alternately, "Hip-fa-lad-di-dee/Graybacks/Are mighty thick/A dollar a day/Is all they pay/For snaggin'/The Klacking Creek."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: work lullaby hardtimes lumbering nonballad logger worksong
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Sandburg, pp. 36-37, "Sh-Ta-Ra-Dah-Dey" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Beck 23, "Snaggin' the Klacking" (1 short text)
Roud #6515 and 8861
NOTES: While Beck gives no information about the circumstances under which the song was sung, it sounds enough like a worksong that I've given it that keyword. - PJS
Whereas Sandburg lists his as a lullaby. I can't prove that these two are the same song -- but they're too similar to separate until fuller versions come along. - RBW
File: San036
===
NAME: Shab-i-da Ru-dy: see I'll Not Marry at All (File: E072)
===
NAME: Shack Bully Holler
DESCRIPTION: "Raise up, boys, raise up -- Breakfas' on de table an a coffee's gittin' col'." Bits and pieces of life in a levee camp: Poor food, not enough sleep, hard work, hard-driving White bosses. Much of the piece is recited rather than sung
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: work food hardtimes nonballad recitation
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 45-46, "Shack Bully Holler" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15531
File: LxA045
===
NAME: Shad, The
DESCRIPTION: Fragment: "Bait a hook to catch a shad/The first thing he bit was my old Dad/Pulled her away with all my might/Trying for to get the old man out/Fishpole broke and I got mad/Down to the bottom went old Dad"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: age fishing death drowning animal father
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SharpAp 254, "The Shad" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #3663
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Lulu (II)" (lyrics)
NOTES: Fragment it may be, but it has a coherent story. Most of the lyrics appear as floaters in "Lulu (II)," but that's a nonballad with a thoroughly different gestalt, and I assume the words floated over there on their own. - PJS
File: ShAp2254
===
NAME: Shades of the Palmetto, The: see The Dying Ranger [Laws A14] (File: LA14)
===
NAME: Shadow of the Pines
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls walking with his love in the shadow of the pines. But "some hasty words were spoken...." and she departed in anger. Now he awakens from his dreams calling her name, and hopes that she will forgive him
AUTHOR: Hattie Loomis & G. O. Lang ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1895
KEYWORDS: love separation loneliness
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 135-136, "Shadow of the Pines" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4289
RECORDINGS:
Archibald & Fish, "In the Shadow of the Pines" (CYL: Edison [BA] 2073, n.d.)
Carter Family, "In the Shadow of the Pines" (Decca 5539, 1938; Montgomery Ward M-8003, 1939)
[Byron] Harlan & [Frank] Stanley, "In the Shadow of the Pines" (Columbia 258, 1901)
Kelly Harrell, "In the Shadow of the Pine" (Victor 20657, 1927; on KHarrell02)
Carl Harris, "In the Shadow of the Pine" (Challenge 229, 1927)
Herb Jennings, "In the Shadow of the Pine" (Champion 15209, 1927)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers [or Dixie Clodhoppers], "In the Shadow of the Pine" (OKeh 45192, 1928; rec. 1927)
Buell Kazee, "In the Shadow of The Pines" (Brunswick 216/Vocalion 5221, 1928)
M. O. [Murray?] Keller, "In the Shadow of a Pine" (Brunswick 188, 1927)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "In the Shadow of the Pines" (on BLLunsford01)
Fiddlin' Doc Roberts Trio, "In the Shadow of the Pines" (Silvertone 5006 [possibly as Dock Roberts, his real name]/Challenge 229 [as Carl Harris]/Champion 15209 [as Billy Jorday]/Gennett 6025, 1927; Supertone 9252, 1928; rec. 1926) (Conqueror 8208, 1933; Conqueror 8566, 1935)
Connie Sides, "In the Shadow of the Pine" (Columbia 15009-D, rec. 1924)
Ernest Stoneman, "In the Shadow of the Pine" (OKeh 45048, 1926) (Pathe 32380/Perfect 12459, 1928)
NOTES: The liner notes to the Kelly Harrell album mention "somebody's happy idea of having Harrell sing the last line of the chorus out of tempo." This seems, however, to be a traditional approach to the song -- Lunsford also breaks the tempo, although in a different way. - RBW
File: MN1135
===
NAME: Shady Grove
DESCRIPTION: The singer talks about courting (in) Shady Grove. There is no particular plot. A typical chorus runs, "Shady Grove my little love, Shady Grove I say, Shady Grove my little love, I'm bound to go away." Shady Grove may be a place or a girl's name
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1916 (Cecil Sharp collection); +1893 (JAFL6)
KEYWORDS: courting love nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,SW)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 57, "Betty Anne" (1 text, 1 tune -- an odd version which seems to have some foreign elements mixed in, and with the tune moved from minor to Mixolydian)
Lomax-FSNA 120, "Shady Grove" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownIII 485, "Shady Grove" (2 texts, neither much like the standard version of this song, but even less like anything else); also 97, "Uncle Joe Cut Off His Toe" (3 texts plus mention of 2 more, but "B" is probably "Shady Grove"; "A" is an incredible mix with verses typical of "Raccoon," "If I Had a Scolding Wife," a "Liza Jane" song, a mule song, and "Shady Grove"); also 111, "Wish I Had a Needle and Thread" (7 text, of which only "E" is really substantial; it is certainly the "Italy" version of "Going Across the Sea." The other fragments contain verses typical of "Shady Grove," "Old Joe Clark," and others); also 286, "Fly Around, My Blue-Eyed Girl" (4 texts; "A"-"C" are "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss," but the "D" text is mostly "Shady Grove")
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 46-47, "Shady Grove" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-Southern, p. 37, "Shady Grove" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 358, "Now I Am a Big Boy" (2 texts, both fragments; the "A" text is associated with this ballad, though -- as only a single verse -- it could go anywhere)
SharpAp 88, "Betty Anne" (1 text, 1 tune, with lyrics from "Shady Grove," "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss" and "Going Across the Sea")
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 195, "Shady Grove" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 152, "Shady Grove" (1 text)
DT, BETTYANN* SHADYGRV*
Roud #4456
RECORDINGS:
Clarence Ashley & New River Jack Burchett, "Shady Grove" (on Ashley03, WatsonAshley01)
Rufus Crisp, "Shady Grove" (on Crisp01)
Goldie Hamilton, "Shady Grove" (AAFS 2787 A2)
Kentucky Thorobreds, "Shady Grove" (Paramount 3080, 1928; Broadway 8184 [as Old Smokey Twins], n.d.; rec. 1927)
J. M. Mullins, "Shady Grove" (AAFS 1566 A)
J. W. Russell, "Shady Grove" (AAFS 3162 B1)
Kilby Snow, "Shady Grove" (on KSnow1)
Pete Steele, "Shady Grove" (on PSteele01)
The Virginia Dandies [alternate name for Walter "Kid" Smith & The Carolina Buddies], "Shady Grove" (Crown, unissued, 1931)
Vernie Westfall, "Shady Grove" (AAFS 4118 B1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Black-Eyed Susie (Green Corn)" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Going Across the Sea" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Kansas Cyclone" (tune)
cf. "Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind" (floating phrase)
cf. "Pig at Home in the Pen" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Mary from Dungloe" (floating verse)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Little Betty Ann
File: SKE57
===
NAME: Shady Road to Clane, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer describes an idyllic spot on "the shady road from Bodenstown to Clane." He meets a beautiful maid who asks "is this the shady road to Clane?" He assures her it is. She leaves. He is dejected. He must find "the maid that stole my heart"
AUTHOR: John Dennis (source: OLochlainn-More)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: love beauty separation
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OLochlainn-More 77, "The Shady Road to Clane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9769
File: OLcM077
===
NAME: Shady Valley: see The Jealous Lover (II) (File: E104)
===
NAME: Shady Woods of Trugh, The
DESCRIPTION: Before joining Owen Roe O'Neill to fight the English, M'Kenna rides from "the Shady Woods of Trugh" to bid farewell -- in case he were killed -- to Maureen McMahon at Glaslough castle. After the battle on Benburb's plains they are married.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: love marriage battle Ireland patriotic war reunion
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Ulster 35, "The Shady Woods of Trugh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2911
NOTES: Morton-Ulster: "Trugh was one of the Baronies of Monaghan.... The McMahons and the M'Kennas are two of the leading families in the area.... Major John M'Kenna, perhaps the M'Kenna of our song, lost his life in 1689; his being the first blood of the Williamite campaign."
Owen Roe O'Neill defeated the Ulster Puritan commander Munroe at Benburb in the Spring of 1646 (source: "Owen Roe O'Neill - The Cavan Connection" by Jim Hannon at the Cornafean Online site). I assume that's the battle of this ballad. - BS
I think it must be, since, first, it does not seem to have been a disaster for the Irish, and second, there were no other memorable battles there. For more on Owen Roe O'Neill, see the notes to "General Owen Roe." - RBW
File: MorU035
===
NAME: Shake Hands with Mother Again
DESCRIPTION: "Now, if I would be a-living when Jesus comes, And know the day and the hour, I'd like to be a-standing at mother's tomb...." The singer hopes Jesus will tell him to "shake hands with mother again"; he will tell her that of his life and never again part
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (recording, Asher Sizemore & Little Jimmie)
KEYWORDS: religious death nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #5741
RECORDINGS:
Happy Valley Family, "Shake Hands With Mother Again" (Perfect 6-03-54, 1936)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers, "Shake Hands With Mother Again" (Bluebird B-6596, 1936)
Frank Proffitt, "Shake Hands with Mother Again" (on FProffitt01)
Asher Sizemore & Little Jimmie, "Shake Hands with Mother Again" (Bluebird B-5568, 1934)
File: RcSHWMAg
===
NAME: Shake It, Mister Gator: see Haming on a Live Oak Log (Mister Gator) (File: JDM240)
===
NAME: Shaker Funeral Hymn
DESCRIPTION: "Our brother's gone, he is no more, He's quit our coast, he's left our shore, He's burst the bonds of mortal clay, The spirit's fled and soars away." All alike are told to be prepared; the righteous will triumph over death
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-FSNA 38, "Shaker Funeral Hymn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #66670
NOTES: The final reference to the sting of death and the victory of the grave is a reference to 1 Corinthians 15:55 (itself citing Hosea 13:14 as it occurs in the Greek Old Testament).
The citation exactly matches the King James Version -- which, however, is translated from an inferior Greek text. The earliest Greek manuscripts read "Where, O death, is your victory; where, O death, is your sting"; another important group reads "Where, O death, is your sting, where, O Hades [i.e. "grave"], is your victory"; still a third has "Where, O death, is your sting; where, O death, is your victory."
(If anyone actually cares about these things, the reading victory... death... sting is supported by P46 [second or third century], by the great fourth century Vatican manuscript B, by the first hand of the fourth century Sinai manuscript, by C of the fifth century, and by the first hand of the major manuscript 1739, as well as many Latin texts; the so-called "Western" manuscripts D F G, from the sixth century and after, read sting... death.... victory; several interesting manuscripts of the ninth and tenth centuries, with the symbols 0121 0243 33 and the second hand of 1739, read victory... hades... sting; the King James reading sting... hades... victory is read by probably at least 90% of all manuscripts, but the earliest appear to be the seventh century correctors of the Sinai and Alexandrian manuscripts, which are regarded as being of little value.) - RBW
File: LoF038
===
NAME: Shaker Life: see Come, Life, Shaker Life (File: LoF037)
===
NAME: Shall I Die?
DESCRIPTION: "Believer, O shall I die? O my army, shall I die?" "Jesus die, shall I die? Die upon the cross, shall I die?" "Die, die, die, shall I die? Jesus da coming..." "Run for to meet him... Weep like a weeper..." "Mourn like a mourner... Cry like a crier..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 41, "Shall I Die?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11994
File: AWG041A
===
NAME: Shall I Show You How the Farmer
DESCRIPTION: "Shall I show you how the farmer (x3) Sows his barley and wheat?" "It is so, so, that the farmer... Sows his barley and wheat." "Shall I show you how the farmer... Hoes his barley and wheat?" "Shall I show... Now will dance and be gay?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: nonballad farming playparty food
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Linscott, pp. 50-51, "Shall I Show You How the Farmer" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Lins050 (Partial)
File: Lins050
===
NAME: Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland
DESCRIPTION: "In a dreary British prison where an Irish rebel lay, By his side a priest waits... 'Father, tell me if I die shall my soul pass through Ireland?'" The rebel dies for Irish freedom; the singer asks that his prayer be granted
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (NFOBlondahl03)
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion death prison
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
PGalvin, p. 67, "Terence McSwiney" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SOULPASS
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland" (on NFOBlondahl03)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Kevin Barry" (tune)
NOTES: Galvin reports this piece under the name "Terence McSwiney," connecting it with a Lord Mayor of Cork (properly Terence MacSwiney) who resisted British rule (more or less; he was found to be carrying notes for an anti-British speech), was imprisoned in London, and died after a 73-day hunger strike (1920).
It should be added that the British were right about his opposition to British rule: MacSwiney was a senior officer in the Volunteers (second in command in Cork, according to Tim Pat Coogan, _Michael Collins_, p. 122), and that he did not win election in Cork as such. Rather, his superior Tomas MacCurtain was elected Mayor in the great Sinn Fein election of January 1920. MacSwiney was appointed his deputy, and succeeded when MacCurtain was shot.
MacSwiney's slow death was part of a movement of hunger strikers, of whom McSwiney was the most notable but perhaps not the one who was making the greatest sacrifice; according to Calton Younger, _Ireland's Civil War_, p. 116, he also had tuberculosis -- and died in a hospital ward, not a prison, where he was treated with great care.
The British had originally tried force feeding the prisoners (which at the time meant pouring milk and beaten eggs down a tube forcibly inserted into the throat via the mouth or, if the prisoner would not open his mouth, the nostrils). Even in the hands of a good doctor, this inevitably resulted in bruising of the nose, mouth, and throat, and in the hands of an incompetent, the results could be disastrous. Another hunger striker, Thomas Ashe, had died of the effects of force feeding (see Robert Kee, _Ourselves Alone_, being volume III of _The Green Flag_, pp. 33-34). This caused a commission to declare force feeding barbaric; as a result, the British stopped using it, and hunger strikers started dying of hunger instead.
It is not impossible that the song is about MacSwiney, but supporting evidence is lacking. See also the notes on "The Boys from County Cork."
This is listed in at least one place as by "AE" (with no space). - RBW
Blondahl03 has no liner notes confirming that this song was collected in Newfoundland. Barring another report for Newfoundland I do not assume it has been found there. There is no entry for "Shall My Soul Pass Through Ireland" in _Newfoundland Songs and Ballads in Print 1842-1974 A Title and First-Line Index_ by Paul Mercer. - BS
File: PGa067
===
NAME: Shall We Gather at the River
DESCRIPTION: "Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod... Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river... That flows by the throne of God." A description of the happy life after death in the land of God
AUTHOR: Robert Lowry
EARLIEST_DATE: 1866
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 26-29, "Beautiful River" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, GATHRIVR*
Roud #14037
RECORDINGS:
Alcoa Quartet, "Shall We Gather at the River" (Columbia 15022-D, 1925)
Chuck Wagon Gang, "Shall We Gather at the River" (Columbia 20630, 1949)
Kanawha Singers, "Shall We Gather at the River" (Brunswick 328, 1929)
Uncle Dave Macon, "Shall We Gather at the River" (Vocalion 5162, 1927)
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Swagerty, "Shall We Gather at the River?" (OKeh 40216, 1924)
NOTES: Reverend Robert Lowry (1826-1899) wrote this piece (which he titled 'Beautiful River") on a hot day in 1864. Although it is perhaps the only memorable thing Lowry ever produced, it is reported that he was not fond of it. - RBW
File: RJ19026
===
NAME: Shallo Brown (Shallow Brown)
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Characteristic line: "Shallo, Shallo Brown." The sailor admits that he is leaving, and regrets being parted from his wife and baby. In some versions he may be a slave sold for the "Yankee Dollar"; in others, he is a whaler going about his work.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1882
KEYWORDS: shanty separation family slave
FOUND_IN: US(MA) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 44, "Shallo Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 61, "Shallo Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 126-127, "Shallow Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 257-260, Shallow Brown (4 texts, 4 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 188-191]
Sharp-EFC, LV, p. 60, "Shallow Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 22, "Shiloh Brown" (1 text)
DT, SHALOBRN SHALBRN2*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). A fragment of "Shallow Brown" is in Part 3, 7/28/1917.
Roud #2621
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Hullabaloo Belay" (character)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Challo Brown
NOTES: According to Hugill, the name "Challo" used in some versions is "a West Indian word of Carib extraction meaning a 'half-caste.'" - RBW
File: Doe044
===
NAME: Shallow Brown (II)
DESCRIPTION: Has the refrain of "Shallo Brown" but the solo text is taken from "Blow, Boys, Blow (I)" and the tune is the same as "Hilo, Boys, Hilo." The meter alternates from 3/4 to 2/4 throughout.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor
FOUND_IN: Britain US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hugill, pp. 257, Shallow Brown (1 text, 1 tune - quoted from Sharp-EFC) [AbEd, p. 187]
Sharp-EFC, XXX, p. 35, "Shallow Brown" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Blow, Boys, Blow (I)" (text)
cf. "Hilo, Boys, Hilo" (tune)
NOTES: Though it has the same title, this is so drastically different from "Shallo Brown" that I thought it warranted a separate entry. - SL
Entirely agreed. If it matters, this is what The Boarding Party called "Fast Shallow," to distinguish it from the more common "Slow Shallow." - RBW
File: Hugi257
===
NAME: Shallows Field: see The Battle of Vicksburg (File: R225)
===
NAME: Shambles Fight, The
DESCRIPTION: St Patrick's day 3000 Ribbonmen march in Downpatrick with muskets. Their flags are pulled down in the Shambles. They run from Protestant guns. "The Police done their best the poor rebels to save, As the Protestant strength roll'd on like a wave"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987 (OrangeLark)
KEYWORDS: violence Ireland patriotic political
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Mar 17, 1848 - "St Patrick's Day parades at Ballynahinch, Downpatrick and Hilltown ended in riots...." (source: Neil Jarman and Dominic Bryan, _From Riots to Rights; Nationalist Parades in the North of Ireland_ (1997), p. 11)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OrangeLark 12, "The Shambles Fight" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Croppies Lie Down" (tune, according to OrangeLark)
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 19: "In some parts of Ulster, Protestant and Catholic tenants were mingled and contended for the land; the peasantry was thus divided into two camps, each having its oath-bound association. This led to a sort of religious war. At the end of the eighteenth century the Catholic "Defenders" were opposed to the Protestant "Peep o'Day Boys" or "Orangemen." The "Defenders were succeeded by the "Ribbonmen, (song [Zimmermann] 39). In parts of counties Tyrone and Monaghan, according to Carleton [p. 19 fn. 14: W. Carleton's _Autobiography_, p. 83], the whole Catholic population was affiliated to Ribbonism, and it would have been dangerous to avoid being involved in the system." Zimmermann 34, "Owen Rooney's Lamentation": "My prosecutor swore so stout I was the man he saw, That encouraged all the Ribbonmen that came from Lisbellaw."
OrangeLark: "As their outrages were recognisably sectarian, the name came to be used as a blanket term for those who attacked Protestants."
"Situated at the junction which leads to Downpatrick Head, the Shambles is one of Ballycastle's oldest landmarks... It was erected between 1830's-1840's as a Co-Op for the buying of local farm produce." (source: "The Shambles" at Ballycastle Co. Mayo site) - BS
File: OrLa012
===
NAME: Shamrock Boys from Kill, The
DESCRIPTION: The Boys from Kill "march down by Lavey's Strand ... with O'Connell's likeness on their breasts, for to conquer Orange Bill." None fought at Tara as well as the boys from Kill. Many Protestant girls would have liked to be with a boy from Kill.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Ulster 36, "The Shamrock Boys from Kill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2912
NOTES: O'Connell is Daniel O'Connell. Orange Bill is William of Orange. This appears not to be about any particular battle in spite of lines like "none could chase ould Luther's race Like the Shamrock boys from Kill."
Morton-Ulster: ."..there is a townland of Kill on the borders of Co. Cavan.... This song seems to me more militant than pure 'O'Connellism' would allow and not militant enough for 'Young Irelanders'. (Remember they bear 'O'Connell's likeness on their breasts'.) It may be that the Shamrock Boys from Kill were a sort of intermediate stage between the fall of O'Connell and the accession of Mitchel and 'Young Ireland'."
"Rebels posted on Tara Hill, County Meath, were routed on May 26 [,1798]." (Zimmermann, p. 155) - BS
I believe the reference to fighting at Tara is to the rally at that place described in "The Meeting of Tara," since that was organized by Daniel O'Connell. - RBW
File: MorU036
===
NAME: Shamrock Cockade, The
DESCRIPTION: "St Patrick he is Ireland's Saint And we're his Volunteers." We are ready to fight the French, if they invade. The Cork Volunteer societies are named: Union, True Blue, Boyne, Aughrim, Enniskillen and Blackpool.
AUTHOR: John Sheares? (see Croker-PopularSongs note)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1780 (_The Cork Remembrancer_, according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: France Ireland nonballad patriotic soldier
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Moylan 3, "The Shamrock Cockade" (1 text, 1 tune)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 42-46, "The Shamrock Cockade" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Green Cockade" (subject of the 1782 Volunteers)
cf. "The Song of the Volunteers" (subject of the 1782 Volunteers)
cf. "Ally Croker" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Moylan p. 1: "On St Patrick's Day, 1778, the first company of Belfast Volunteers was formed in response to the danger of a possible war between Britain and France. [According to Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_, p. 186, the year was 1777, though few other companies formed until 1778.] The movement spread like wildfire and soon there were companies in all parts of Ireland."
Croker-PopularSongs: "Fitzgerald thus chronicles the matter in his 'Cork Remembrancer:'--'1780, March 17. The armed societies of this city paraded on the Mall with shamrock cockades, and fired three volleys in honour of the day."
Croker-PopularSongs has the text "from a manuscript copy in the autograph of Mr John Shears [executed in Dublin for high treason in 1798]" sung at the 1780 dinner. - BS
For more on the Volunteers and their effect on Anglo-Irish relations, see the notes to "The Song of the Volunteers." The reference to Saint Patrick may seem a little strange from a pro-British force, but many of the Volunteers were Catholic though the majority were Protestants. It should be remembered that the Volunteers helped encourage the formation of the independent Irish parliament -- and, since they were granted that parliament, they were relatively pro-British.
For John Sheares (the usual spelling), see the notes to "The Brothers John and Henry Sheares." - RBW
File: Moyl003
===
NAME: Shamrock from Glenore, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls his mother's speech as he set out walking on a Saint Patrick's Day: She plucks a shamrock and praises it. But she is old; he must cross the sea. Still he cherishes the token of mother and home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration separation homesickness mother
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H34, p. 213, "The Pretty Three-Leaved Shamrock from Glenore" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Richard Hayward, Ireland Calling (Glasgow,n.d.), p. 2, "The Three-leafed Shamrock from Glenore" (text, music and reference to Decca F-3283 recorded Aug 12, 1932)
Roud #8126
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Four-Leaved Shamrock from Glenore
My Little Four-Leaf Shamrock from Glenore
NOTES: The date and master id (GB-4738-1/2) for Hayward's record is provided by Bill Dean-Myatt, MPhil. compiler of the Scottish National Discography. - BS
File: HHH034
===
NAME: Shamrock from Tiree, A
DESCRIPTION: The singer, who will "see [Erin] no more," recalls the green fields, the red roses, the birds' songs. He dreams of home and its history -- the feasts in the halls of the O'Cahans, the playing of Rory Dall. All this was called back by receipt of a shamrock
AUTHOR: James O'Kane
EARLIEST_DATE: 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: homesickness flowers bird emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H716, pp. 218-219, "A Shamrock from Tiree" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
File: HHH176
===
NAME: Shamrock Shore (I), The
DESCRIPTION: Hard times and high taxes force the singer to leave Ireland for America. He and his friends spend six weeks in the woods, and the other three all die. He warns against coming to America. He hopes to return to Ireland
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: emigration hardtimes death
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H69, p. 201, "The Happy Shamrock Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Irishman's Farewell to His Country
NOTES: This is truly a curious song; how did the singer and friends get in trouble so quickly? Unless something has been lost, I have to suspect this was composed by someone who had never been to America, and thought it all a vast wilderness. - RBW
File: HHH069
===
NAME: Shamrock Shore (II), The: see Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore (File: HHH192)
===
NAME: Shamrock Shore (IV), The: see The Irishman's Farewell to his Country (The Shamrock Shore IV) (File: OLcM088)
===
NAME: Shamrock Shore, The (The Maid of Mullaghmore)
DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on the muses to help him express his grief over leaving home. Having left Ireland for (Scotland), he says that (Glasgow) girls are pretty but they aren't the girl he left behind. He warns others against leaving their loves behind
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1886 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(494))
KEYWORDS: love separation homesickness
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
SHenry H20a, p. 216, "The Maid of Mullaghmore" (1 text, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 74, "The Shamrock Shore" (1 text)
OLochlainn-More 88A, "The Shamrock Shore" (1 text)
Roud #2287
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Tunney, "The Shamrock Shore" (on IRPTunney01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(494), "The Shamrock Shore" ("In a musing mind with me combine"), H. Such (London), 1863-1885; also 2806 b.9(258), 2806 b.11(168)[Misprint in title--The Shamrore.coShk--and text], Harding B 26(598), "The Shamrock Shore" ("You muses nine, with me combine"); 2806 c.8(285), "The Shomrock Shore," printed at Cork between 1800 and 1899, shelfmark Harding B.26(598).
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Scarborough Settler's Lament" (theme) and references there
cf. "Girls of the Shamrock Shore" (theme of separation -- not transportation -- and one verse)
NOTES: O'Conor includes "In the blooming spring, when the small birds sing, and the lambs did sport and play, My way I took, and friends forsook, till I came to Dublin Quay." - BS
Paddy Tunney's version on IRPTunney01 has the singer going to New York rather than to Glasgow. - BS
File: HHH20a
===
NAME: Shamrock Sod No More, The: see The Irish Emigrant's Lament (File: HHH235)
===
NAME: Shamus O'Brien
DESCRIPTION: "Oh Shamus O'Brien, I'm loving you yet, And my heart is still trusting and kind... Oh why did I let you get out of my arms Like a bird that was caged and is free." The singer promises extreme devotion and asks Shamus to return to her
AUTHOR: Will S. Hays
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: love separation betrayal request
FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) Ireland
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 758, "Shamus O'Brien" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Dean, pp. 69-70, "Shamus O'Brien" (1 text)
O'Conor, p. 160, "Shamus O'Brien" (1 text)
Roud #4975
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Nora O'Neal"
NOTES: Randolph reports that this is the answer to an earlier Will S. Hays song, "Nora O'Neal." - RBW
There is a Missouri fiddle tune called "Shamus O'Brien's Waltz"; it's somewhat different from the tune to this song, but is perhaps a descendant. - PJS
Grove's Dictionary of Music also reports a "romantic comic opera in two acts" with the title "Shamus O'Brien"; the book is by J. H. Jessop and the music by "Stanford." But it didn't premiere until March 2, 1896. - RBW
File: R758
===
NAME: Shan Van Voch, The: see The Shan Van Voght (File: PGa027)
===
NAME: Shan Van Vocht, The: see The Shan Van Voght (File: PGa027)
===
NAME: Shan Van Voght (1828), The
DESCRIPTION: "O'Connell gained the day," "Catholic victory is shouted." Vesey Fitgerald and parson Fleury are vexed. "The Bible saints are routed" "Lord Tyrone, we will crack his collar bone, The County Clare will be our own, says the Shan Van Vught"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: pride Ireland nonballad political
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: July 1828 - Daniel O'Connell defeats Vessey Fitzgerald as Westminster MP from County Clare.
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 7B, "A New Song Called the Shan Van Vught" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1848) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject.
cf. "The Battle of Ballycohy" (1828) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject.
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" and references there, including Shan Van Voght broadsides on other subjects.
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES: "In a symbolic protest against the anti-Catholic oath MPs had to take on entering parliament, O'Connell stands for election in Co. Clare and defeats the liberal protestant incumbent, Vessey Fitzgerald" (source: _The McClintock Bunbury Family History and other stories 1800 to 1899_ on the Lisnavagh site). - BS
For the career of Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847), see e.g. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" and "Daniel O'Connell (II)"; also, for some context on the period, "Fergus O'Connor and Independence." - RBW
File: Zimm007B
===
NAME: Shan Van Voght (1848), The
DESCRIPTION: We'll defeat the Tories in this year of 1848. Pitt and Castlereagh "stole our Parliament away." The French drove out the royalists. Smith O'Brien and John O'Connell will do that here. The French are on the sea "to be here the 10th of May"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1848 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion France Ireland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1848 - The Young Ireland uprising fails
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 7C, "A New Song Called the Shan Van Vocht" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "John Mitchel" and references there for the 1848 Irish uprising
cf. "Lament of John O Mahony" and references there for the 1848 Irish uprising
cf. "Skibbereen" and references there for the 1848 Irish uprising
cf. "The Wee Duck" and references there for the 1848 Irish uprising
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1828) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject.
cf. "The Battle of Ballycohy" (1828) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject.
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" and references there, including Shan Van Voght broadsides on other subjects.
cf. "The Game of Cards" (II) for references to the "stealing" of Grattan's Parliament
cf. "The Wheels of the World" for Pitt and Castlereigh
NOTES: Among the European revolutions of 1848 was the French revolt driving Louis Philippe from Paris in February. Once again the United Irishmen looked to France as their model. The Irish famine persisted. When the government suspended Habeus Corpus in July the leaders of Young Ireland -- William Smith O'Brien, John Blake Dillon and Francis Meagher -- planned an uprising that failed. (source: _The 1848 Uprising_ by Donagh MacDonagh at the Waterford Ciry History site, copyright Waterford City History).
The reference "Billy Pitt and Castlereagh ... They stole our Parliament away ... The people's curse, I give my oath, caused Castelreagh to cut his throat" is to the 1801 "Act of Union" --supported by Pitt and Robert Stewart (Lord Castlereagh) -- that formed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" and abolished the Dublin Parliament. [For the brief life of Grattan's Parliament, see the notes to "Ireland's Glory."]
Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822 by cutting his throat. (sources: _Britain and Ireland_ by Marjie Bloy on the Victorian Web site; _Robert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh_ on the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos site). [The fault may have been genetic; his nephew Robert Fitzroy, one-time captain of the _Beagle_ who would oppose evolution tooth and nail, would commit suicide in 1845; see Arthur Herman, _To Rule the Waves_, p. 437. - RBW]
John O'Connell is Daniel O'Connell's son and led the Repeal Association which differed in tactics but not objective from William Smith O'Brien's Young Ireland but both groups supported Irish independence. "Smith O'Brien led a delegation to Paris. Though rebuffed by Lamartine's new government, the delegates were intoxicated by the revolutionary atmosphere in France. On their return caution was thrown to the winds." O'Brien was one of the organizers of the 1848 uprising. (source:_Young Ireland_ by Richard Davis on the Ohio University site) - BS
As so often, of course, when Ireland looked to other nations for help, they found none. 1848 -- "The Year of Revolution" -- did overthrow kings, but not nations. The Habsburg monarchy replaced the feeble-minded Ferdinand I (reigned 1835-1848) with the less addled by hardly more effective Franz Joseph. France got rid of Louis Philippe and eventually replaced him with Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) -- a man who liked independence movements but didn't like democracy at all. And so it went.
The revolution in France (February 24, 1848) did inspire the Young Ireland leaders, but they could do very little. Young Ireland leaders such as Thomas Francis Meagher (for whom see "The Escape of Meagher") and John Mitchel (for whom see the song by that name) urged revolt, and eventually brought in the more peaceful William Smith O'Brien (1803-1864). (See Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, pp. 115-116).
According to Robert Kee (_The Most Distressful country_, being volume I of _The Green Flag_, p. 276), even the beginning of the rebellion was an accident. On July 23, 1848, Smith O'Brien was visiting a friend in Wexford, when Meagher and John Blake Dillon arrived with word that habeas corpus had been suspended; there may also have been a warrant for Smith O'Brien's arrest. He had little choice but to scrape up what strength he could and fight to survive. But there was no organization and no plan; truly Smith O'Brien had been forced into violence. The "rebellion" followed.
Or, rather, collapsed. There was no help from France (presumably the reference is a hangover from one of the earlier Shan Van Voght songs). A few half-armed bands wandered around Ireland, and a few leaders tried to scrape up troops, but no one actually set out to fight the British. Smith O'Brien gave a lot of speeches, but was so cautious that he ended up visiting the same places several times rather than seek new recruits (Kee, p. 280). As Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry put it, "in July 1848 the 'revolt' collapsed in an inglorious scuffle in a widow's back garden patch at Ballingarry. O'Brien, Meagher and others surrendered, and mercifully were not put to death but transported to join Mitchel in Australia" (_A History of Ireland_, p. 238).
According to Golway, p. 121, "The Battle of Widow McCormack's Cabbage Patch" resulted in two people being killed, though they may not have been rebels. And that was it for armed conflict.
To give you an idea of how trivial the whole rising was, R. F. Foster's _Modern Ireland_ mentions the Battle of Ballingary -- the site of the siege on Widow McCormackÕs house -- only in its chronology, not in its text. Even its leader Smith O'Brien said that it was an "escapade" and that it "does not deserve the name of insurrection" (Kee, p. 286). The _Oxford Companion to Irish History_ doesn't even give it an entry, or mention it in its article on Smith O'Brien, though it does include a brief description in the article regarding the Revolution of 1848. Still, it's clear that the whole thing is remembered mostly because Young Ireland was first and foremost a literary movement. Odds are there were more Irishmen writing about the revolt in 1848 than actually participated.
Smith O'Brien's erratic behavior continued at his trial. He was, naturally, found guilty of rebellion, which meant that he was subject to the death penalty. The jury strongly urged mercy -- but Smith O'Brien refused to petition for clemency; it took a special act of parliament to allow him to be transported (Kee, p. 287). Even in Tasmania, he long refused to apply for a ticket-of-leave (parole). He was fully pardoned in 1854, and returned to Ireland in 1856. He generally stayed out of politics after that; people seemed to understand that he was a gifted speaker who somehow couldn't come up with much to say. - RBW
File: Zimm07C
===
NAME: Shan Van Voght, The
DESCRIPTION: The Shan Van Vogt declares that the French are at hand, and will rescue Ireland. The troops are called together; they will wear green; they will free Ireland and proclaim liberty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1797 (Sparling)
KEYWORDS: Ireland freedom rebellion
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1796 - A French fleet (carrying, among others, Wolfe Tone) sets out for Ireland. At Christmas, one of the ships is in Bantry Bay. Bad weather and incompetent French seamanship, however, keeps the fleet at sea, and the French (distracted by their ongoing revolution) do not pursue the matter
1798 - main Irish rebellion. Wolfe Tone tries again
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
O'Conor, p. 32, "Shan Van Vogh" (1 text)
PGalvin, p. 27, "The Shan Van Vocht" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 60, "The Shan Van Vocht" (1 text, 1 tune)
Zimmermann 7A, "The Shan Van Vocht" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Moylan 28, "The Shan Van Vocht" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 23, "Sean-Bhean Bhocht" (1 fragment)
Silber-FSWB, p. 322, "Shan Van Voght" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 18-20, 514, "The Shan Van Vocht"
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 297-299, "The Shan Van Vocht" (1 text plus a portion of a parody about Home Rule by Susan Mitchell)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 256-257, "The Shan Van Vocht" (1 text)
Roud #6529
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Escape of James Stephens" (tune)
cf. "Lord Wathe'ford" (tune and repeated lines)
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1828) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject
cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1848) for Shan Van Voght song on another subject
cf. "General Wonder" (subject of Hoche's expedition)
cf. "Poor Old Man (II)" (tune, theme)
SAME_TUNE:
The Bird Is Left His Nest (Healy-OISBv2, pp.122-124)
Up for the Land (Healy-OISBv2, pp. 151-152, apparently to this tune)
The Escape of James Stephens (File: OLcM003A)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Shan Van Voch
NOTES: Sparling dates his text 1797 and says it is "the first song I can find with this refrain."
Zimmermann p.56: "The name Shan Van Vocht (Seanbhean Bhocht: Poor Old Woman), Gaelic as it sounds, seems to have had a political meaning almost exclusively in songs written in English, and constantly adapted to new events. [Cf. "The Shan Van Voght" (1828), "The Shan Van Voght" (1848), "The Battle of Ballycohy"]
The most famous variant is said to date from 1797, though no text was printed before the 1840s. According to Donal O'Sullivan this name was borrowed from a non-political song; prior to the 1790's, 'there is no trace in Irish or Anglo-Irish literature of any such allegorical conceptions'. [D. Osullivan _Songs of the Irish_ pp. 130-131]."
Moylan notes "Bunting collected a (non-political) song called "An tSeanbhean Bhocht" in 1792. By the end of the 18th century the air had become the bearer of political verses, this one the most famous. It did not see print, however, until the mid-19th century, when it was published in _The Nation_."
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Shan Van Vocht" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "1798 the First Year of Liberty," Hummingbird Records HBCD0014 (1998)) - BS
Although the Irish often looked to the French for help (as in the case of the United Irish rebellion of 1798), the French supplied it for their own reasons. In this case, it was to distract Britain (as a result of the French Revolution, France was at war with most of Europe) and found a base at their back.
When the 1796 expedition under Hoche failed (due mostly to incompetent seamanship; France had purged most of its experienced naval officers), the French simply gave it up and went on to other things.
It was one of those things that had people talking about a "Protestant Wind," as in 1688. Hoche was one of the best, if not the best, young French general. But the wind that let the French fleet get out of Brest also scattered it. (David Davies, _A Brief History of Fighting Ships: Ships of the Line and Napoleonic sea battle 1793-1815_, Carroll & Graf, 1996, 2002, pp. 76-77, attributes much of this to the action of Sir Edward Pellew in the frigate _Indefatigable_, which during the night flitted in and out of the French fleet spreading confusion with spurious signals, but bad French seamanship and confused instructions from the admiral are generally considered more important).
Most of the fleet made it to Bantry Bay, but the ship with Hoche aboard was blown off-course. The fleet waited a day, hoping for its general -- and its admiral, who might have a better idea how to land on the rough coasts of the bay. Then the winds came and scattered the fleet. End of landing. Later French expeditions would be made with small raiding forces rather than true armies of invasion.
"Shan Van Voght" is the anglicized form of "Sean Bhean Bhocht," "poor old woman," a title for the oppressed Irish people. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a Belfast literary journal would arise with the title _Shan Van Vocht_ devoted to promoting an independent Irish culture.
Theobald Wolfe Tone was, interestingly, a Protestant (the whole 1798 rebellion was basically a Protestant idea), but wanted a free Ireland with equal rights for both religions. After a (much too brief) period of resistance with the pen, he turned to the sword.
After the fiasco of Bantry Bay, Tone would make two more attempts to invade Ireland. The first, in a Dutch fleet, was destroyed by the British at the Battle of Camperdown (October 11, 1797) -- by which time Tone had given up anyway; the army he and the Hoche had assembled had to be disbanded. Hoche died soon after, and he was the one committed Frenchman.
Tone had, by then, already set off to appeal to Napoleon. But Napoleon turned him down; an Irish expedition, even if it succeeded, would not be practical (read: cost-effective; there was no treasure to be collected in impoverished Ireland). Napoleon went to Egypt instead, and did not send a force to Ireland until after the 1798 rebellion had been crushed.
Still, three small French forces sailed in 1798: Three ships under General Humbert (see "The Men of the West"), one ship with Napper Tandy aboard (see "The Wearing of the Green"), and a large force -- ten ships and nearly 3000 men -- with Tone aboard.
Tone's force was caught by a superior British fleet off Donegal on October 12, 1798. Tone himself was taken and condemned to death by hanging (as a traitor). He requested that he instead be shot as a soldier. When this was denied, he cut his own throat. He was 35.
The sad irony is that the British government in Ireland, under Lord Grattan, was sincerely trying to improve conditions in Ireland at the time of the 1798 rising. As recently as 1782, Ireland had received the right to an independent parliament. (Prior to that, it had had a parliament, but it was under the thumb of the British parliament. For details on this, see the notes to "Ireland's Glory.")
But, of course, this was the era of George III, with all the Crown high-handedness that implied; a few local officials could hardly make up for the stupidity at the top. And the military under General Lake made things worse with a policy of pure brutality.
The rebellion generally put an end to that. (Nor was this the only time a rebellion slowed liberalization.) Indeed, the British decided that the problems had gone on long enough, and for the first time united Ireland with Britain.
The "Lord Edward" of some texts is Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763-1798), one of the leaders of the United Irishmen and the last one to retain his liberty after the government cracked down (March 12). He doesn't seem to have been particularly smart, and was eventually wounded and captured (May 19); he died in prison of the effects of his wound. For more about him, see the notes to "Edward (III) (Edward Fitzgerald)." - RBW
Bodleian Library site Ballads Catalogue does not have broadsides for this song but has a number of songs modelled on it. For example,
Bodleian, Harding B 18(151), "The Escape of Stephens, the Fenian Chief," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
Bodleian, Harding B 19(87), "The Shan Van Vouch" ("Oh, the time is coming on ... News of battles won and lost ... The tax that's still to come..."), unknown, n.d.
Bodleian, 2806 c.8(54), "The Shan Van Vought ("I am sure you heard of Warner, says the Shan Van Vought"), unknown, handwritten: "A Fenian Ballad 1866"
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3483), "The Shan Van Vought on Garibaldi" ("I've a story to relate, says the Shan Van Vought"), T. Pearson (Manchester) , 1850-1899
Bodleian, 2806 c.8(49), "Shan Van Vought's Farewell to Ireland" ("My sons are going away says the shan van vought"), unknown, n.d.
Another Bodleian broadside version to "remember '98": 2806 b.9(68),"A new song call'd the Gay Old Hag" ("Will you come a boating my gay old hag"), P. Brereton (Dublin), c.1867; also Johnson Ballads 2191c, "A new song call'd the Gay Old Hag"
Broadside Harding B 18(151): H. De Marsan dating per _Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song_ by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
File: PGa027
===
NAME: Shanadar (I)
DESCRIPTION: Fragment only. "Shanadar is a rolling river, E-O... I-O... E-O... I-O..." May be a variant of "Shenandoah" but the meter is quite different, alternating between 2/2 and 3/2.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Sharp-EFC)
KEYWORDS: shanty river derivative
FOUND_IN: Britain
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Hugill, p. 178, "Shanadar" (1 text, 1 tune - quoted from Sharp-EFC)
Sharp-EFC, LIII, p. 58, "Shanadar (Second version)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #324
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Shenandoah" (text)
NOTES: Not too surprisingly, Roud lumps this with "Shenandoah," and I don't think there is much doubt that the two are related. But this does appear distinct enough (barely) to deserve its own listing. Note that there are "Shenandoah" texts with a "Shanadar" refrain -- but they're from Cecil Sharp, who may well have put "Shenandoah" verses to this chorus. - RBW
File: Hugi178
===
NAME: Shanadar (II): see Shenandoah (File: Doe077)
===
NAME: Shandrum Boggoon
DESCRIPTION: There are no songs about Shandrum boggoon. "The reason is plain -- no praise did it need." The singer would trade Midas's touch for a touch for Shandrum boggoon. If the Devil tastes it a host of clergy will be needed to banish him.
AUTHOR: Edward Quin (source: Croker-PopularSongs)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: food humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 287-289, "Shandrum Boggoon" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Black Joke" (tune, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "Boggoon is the Irish for bacon.... Shandrum ... in the county of Cork ... [remarkable] for the excellence of the bacon produced there." - BS
File: CrPS287
===
NAME: Shane Crossagh
DESCRIPTION: Squire Staples sets out to take Shane Crossagh, once a plowboy but now an outlaw "for the wearin' o' the green." Crossagh -- helped by his hound, who destroys the pursuing dogs -- escapes across the Roe. (Shane later is able to take revenge on Staples.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: outlaw manhunt escape dog
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H97, pp. 130-131, "Shane Crossagh" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13373
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Charlie Is My Darling" (floating lyrics)
File: HHH097
===
NAME: Shanghai Rooster (Shanghai Chicken)
DESCRIPTION: "Shanghai chicken an' he grow so tall, Hooday! Hooday! Take dat egg a month to fall, Hooday! Hooday!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: chickens
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 195, "Shanghai Chicken" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #5247
NOTES: Roud includes several items under this number that I'm not convinced are related, but it does appear that this is a rather disjointed song. - RBW
File: ScaNF195
===
NAME: Shankill Boozers, The
DESCRIPTION: "If you feel like getting full boys, the Shankill is your bet, Have a pint in ev'ry pub and see how far you get" "We'll start us off in North Street at the Elephant Bar ... [until] the Woodvale Arms, all things to an end must come."
AUTHOR: Bernard Keenan (source: Hammond-Belfast)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (Hammond-Belfast)
KEYWORDS: drink nonballad travel
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hammond-Belfast, pp. 48-49, "The Shankill Boozers" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hammond-Belfast: Written in 1966: "an accurate account of an alcoholic odyssey from North Street to Woodvale [Belfast]." - BS
File: Hamm048
===
NAME: Shannelly's Mill: see John Whipple's Mill (File: FSC171)
===
NAME: Shannon and the Chesapeake, The: see The Chesapeake and the Shannon (I) [Laws J20] (File: LJ20)
===
NAME: Shannon Scheme, The
DESCRIPTION: The Shannon Scheme will "light our houses," "stitch our blouses," "milk our cows," "churn the cream," "reap and mow," "spin and sew," provide "more employment and more enjoyment and happier homes." A toast to the scheme and its promoters
AUTHOR: Sylvester Boland (source: notes to IRClare01)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1992 (IRClare01)
KEYWORDS: river technology humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #18468
RECORDINGS:
Nonie Lynch, "The Shannon Scheme" (on IRClare01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Straightened Banks of Erne" (theme: Ireland's hydro-electrification)
NOTES: Notes to IRClare01: "The Shannon Scheme for the Electrification of the Irish Free State, by harnessing the fall in the River Shannon between Killaloe and Limerick, was commenced in 1925 and completed in 1929 and, within six years, was supplying 85% of Ireland's electricity requirements. The song was written in 1927...." - BS
According to John A. Murphy, _Ireland in the Twentieth Century_(Gill and MacMillan, 1975, 1989), p. 65, "[T]he most far-sighted step in the development of natural resources by the state was the Shannon Scheme -- the beginning of the national supply of electricity -- and the establishment of the Electricity Supply Board in 1927, destined to be perhaps the most successful of those semi-state bodies which in future years became characteristic and indispensible features of the Irish economy."
For a later song about Ireland's electrification, see "The ESB in Coolea." - RBW
File: RcShaSch
===
NAME: Shannon Side, The
DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in the month of April... I met a comely damsel Upon the Shannon side." He tries to seduce her, and fails; he throws her down against her will. He departs; six months later, pregnant, she begs him to marry; he says he is pledged to another
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: courting sex rape pregnancy betrayal rejection
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond),Scotland) Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 200-202, "The Shannon Side" (1 text)
Roud #1453
RECORDINGS:
Mary Delaney, "Peter Thunderbolt" (on IRTravellers01)
Phoebe Smith, "Captain Thunderball" (on Voice10)
BROADSIDES:
Murray, Mu23-y4:028, "Shannon Side," unknown, 19C
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Reynardine" [Laws P15] (plot, lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Captain Thunderbolt
NOTES: This not only shares much of the plot of "Reynardine," the lyrics also overlap to a degree. I have to think there has been some sort of cross-fertilization. Still, they are clearly distinct songs. - RBW
In Broadside Murray Mu23-y4:028, [the Mary Delaney recording,] and Phoebe Smith's version on Voice10... the man gives his name as Captain, or Peter, Thunderbolt... "that's when my baby is born as that may be the same." I assume it is an integral part of the ballad when the text is well enough remembered. - BS
File: Ord202
===
NAME: Shannon's Flowery Banks
DESCRIPTION: Teddy and Patty, the singer, exchange vows of "eternal truth." He is impressed "just when we named next morning fair To be our wedding day." At war's end he does not return: "my Teddy's false and I forlorn"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1839 (Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: infidelity promise war separation pressgang
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 289-292, "Shannon's Flowery Banks" (1 text)
Roud #17000
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 22(361), "The Banks of Shannon" ("In summer when the leaves were green"), J. Evans (London), 1780-1812; also 2806 c.18(13), Harding B 28(163), Harding B 28(62), Harding B 25(106)[some illegible words], "[The] Banks of Shannon"
NOTES: Croker-PopularSongs: "The music of this song was by Mr Carter, a member ofthe choir of Cloyne, who also composed the beautiful and well-known melody of 'O, Nannie, wilt thou gang with me?'" - BS
File: CrPS289
===
NAME: Shanty Boy: see The Farmer and the Shanty Boy (File: Wa033)
===
NAME: Shanty Boy and the Farmer's Son, The: see The Farmer and the Shanty Boy (File: Wa033)
===
NAME: Shanty Boy on the Big Eau Claire, The [Laws C11]
DESCRIPTION: A girl loves a shanty boy. Her (father/mother) sends her away to keep them apart. She dies of disease and grief; her lover kills himself. They haunt her (father), whose business goes bankrupt. The moral: Don't fall in love with a shanty boy (?!)
AUTHOR: William T. Allen (Shan T. Boy)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: separation suicide ghost love father mother family humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Laws C11, "The Shanty Boy on the Big Eau Claire"
Rickaby 11, "The Shanty-boy on the Big Eau Claire" (2 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes)
DT 819, EAUCLAIR
Roud #2219
RECORDINGS:
Art Thieme, "The Shanty Boy on the Big Eau Claire" (on Thieme02) (on Thieme05)
NOTES: Like many of Allen's songs, this has a "serious" plot but is couched in humorous language, with lines such as:
Every girl has her troubles; each man likewise has his.
But few can match the agony of the following story, viz.
It relates about the affection of a damsel young and fair
Who dearly loved a shanty boy on the Big Eau Claire.
Allen reported writing this around 1875, but by the time Rickaby met him some forty years later, he had forgotten the tune he used. - RBW
File: LC11
===
NAME: Shanty Boy, Farmer Boy: see The Farmer and the Shanty Boy (File: Wa033)
===
NAME: Shanty Boy's Reveille
DESCRIPTION: "Beans are on the table/Daylight's in the swamp/You lazy lumberjack/Ain't you ever gettin' up?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work logger nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 17, "Shanty Boy's Reveille" (1 text)
Roud #8864
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Wake Up Jacob" (theme)
File: Be017
===
NAME: Shanty Boys in the Pine, The: see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210)
===
NAME: Shanty Boys, The: see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210)
===
NAME: Shanty Man, The: see The Shantyman's Life (I) (File: Doe211)
===
NAME: Shanty Man's Life, The: see The Shantyman's Life (I) (File: Doe211)
===
NAME: Shanty Teamster's Marseillaise
DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye gay teamsters, attention I pray, I'll sing you a ditty composed, by the way." The listeners are urged to cheer up in "this wretched country, the Opeongo." The new-hired crew, oppressed by the boss and Jerry Welch, walk out of their jobs
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Rickaby)
KEYWORDS: work logger hardtimes boss Indians(Am.) strike recitation
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Rickaby 28, "Shanty Teamster's Marseillaise" (1 text)
Roud #5091
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Canaday-I-O, Michigan-I-O, Colley's Run I-O" [Laws C17] (theme)
cf. "The Buffalo Skinners" (Laws B10a) (plot)
cf. "Boggy Creek or The Hills of Mexico" [Laws B10b]
NOTES: This is item cC31 in Laws's Appendix II. Laws does not so identify it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it derives from the Canaday-I-O or Buffalo Skinners family of songs. - RBW
File: Rick113
===
NAME: Shanty-Man's Life, The: see The Shantyman's Life (I) (File: Doe211)
===
NAME: Shanty-man's Song, The: see The Logger's Alphabet (File: Doe207)
===
NAME: Shantyboy's Alphabet, The: see The Logger's Alphabet (File: Doe207)
===
NAME: Shantyboy's Song, The: see The Logger's Alphabet (File: Doe207)
===
NAME: Shantyman's Life (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "The shantyman's life is a wearisome one, Though some say it's free from care; It's the ringing of the axe from morning until night in the middle of the forest drear." The singer lists the hazards of his life; he plans to go home, marry, and settle down
AUTHOR: George W. Stace?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1858 (broadside)
KEYWORDS: logger nonballad lumbering
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar) US(MA,MW,NE,NW,Ro) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (13 citations)
Dean, pp. 87-88, "The Shanty Man's Life" (1 text)
Rickaby 9, "The Shanty-man's Life" (2 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 103, "The Shantyman's Life" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 211-213, "A Shantyman's Life" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 66-67, "The Shantyman's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 274, "Shantyman's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 150, "The Lumberman's Life" (1 text)
FSCatskills 1, "A Shantyman's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 34, "The Shanty Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 390-391, "The Shanty-Man's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 567-568, "The Lumberman's Life" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 6, "A Shantyman's Life" (1 text)
DT, SHNTLIFE*
Roud #838
RECORDINGS:
Pierre La Dieu, "The Shanty Man's Life" (Columbia 15278-D, 1928)
Pete Seeger, "The Shantyman's Life" (on PeteSeeger29)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Barbara Allen" (tune) (the usual tune for this piece is what Charles Seeger called the "type 1" Barbara Allen tune and Bronson labelled the "Group D" tune)
cf. "A Cowboy's Life" (tune & meter; lyrics)
NOTES: Some versions of this song refer to a lack of liquor; Doerflinger reports that strong drink was banned in most logging camps in the years after 1860. The only recourse was a "visit to the dentist" or the like -- an excuse that obviously could only be tried so many times.
The broadside version of this is credited to George W. Stace of "La Crosse Valley, Wis[consin]." For what it's worth, La Crosse is in the heart of what used to be the Big Woods country. - RBW
File: Doe211
===
NAME: Shantyman's Life (II), A: see The Sailor Boy (I) [Laws K12] (File: LK12)
===
NAME: Shantyman's Life (III): see The Lumber Camp Song (File: Doe210)
===
NAME: Share 'Em
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I din' ka' how you share (shear?) 'em So you share 'em eben; Share yo' sheep and blankets -- Share 'em, share 'em, share 'em! If you want er see dem pretty gals, Look on Mon'lyn's Baniel."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: sheep
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 510, "Share 'Em" (1 text)
Roud #11811
File: Br3510
===
NAME: Shaver, The
DESCRIPTION: Capstan shanty. Tells of going to sea "when I was just a hairless boy," getting kicked around, enduring bad weather, and jumping ship at the first chance. Cho: "When I was just a shaver, a shaver. Oh, I was fed up with sea, when I was just a shaver."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor homosexuality youth desertion abuse sex
FOUND_IN: Britain
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, pp. 338-339, "The Shaver" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9534
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Paddy Works on the Railway" (Hugill's tune for "Poor Paddy")
NOTES: Hugill says he left out several unprintable verses dealing with homosexual themes which, however common in practice, were rarely sung about. - SL
It sounds, based on Hugill's notes, as if the original did not use the word "shaver," but rather an obscenity, presumably referring to a catamite. I have added keywords on that basis. - RBW
File: Hugi338
===
NAME: Shawneetown Is Burnin' Down
DESCRIPTION: "Shawneetown is burnin' down, Who tole you so? (x2)." "Cythie, my darlin' gal...." "How the hell d'ye expect me to hold her, Way down below, I've got no skin on either shoulder...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924
KEYWORDS: fire nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 590, [no title] (1 text)
NOTES: I suspect this is a variant of a song I learned as "Down by the River" (not to be confused with "Down by the Riverside"). But this version appears to have been bowdlerized, and lacks a tune, so I cannot tell this with certainty.
File: BMRF590B
===
NAME: She Came Rollin' Down the Mountain
DESCRIPTION: A young woman takes a succession of men up the hills of West Virginny to engage in an act of prostitution, after which she comes rollin' down the mountain.
AUTHOR: Buddy DeSylva, Brown and Henderson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1932
KEYWORDS: sex whore bawdy
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph-Legman II, p. 604, "She Came Rollin' Down the Mountain" (1 partial text)
RECORDINGS:
Blue Ridge Mountain Girls, "She Came Rollin' Down the Mountain" (Champion 16743, 1934)
NOTES: There is an allusion to the onset of the Depression, dating the song to approximately 1930. This formerly popular song is of questionable oral currency. - EC
There's a commercial version, presumably cleaned-up (or the original from which the bawdy version is derived). See the Blue Ridge Mountain Girls' recording. - PJS
File: RL604
===
NAME: She Died on the Train: see Liza Jane (File: San132)
===
NAME: She Done Got Ugly
DESCRIPTION: "Says huh Julie, Hullo gal. Says early in the mornin' baby... I come to your window baby.... Says get away from my window baby... Says got another man baby, don't want you no more... You done got ugly... Hey rock that baby...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1950 (recording, Archie Lee Hill)
KEYWORDS: love abandonment
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 107-108, (no title) (1 text); pp. 263-264, "She Done Got Ugly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10991
RECORDINGS:
Archie Lee Hill, "She Done Got Ugly" (on NFMAla1)
File: CNFM107B
===
NAME: She Gets There Just the Same (Jim Crow Car)
DESCRIPTION: "The white gal smells like Castile soap, The yeller gal try to do the same, The poor black gal smell like little billy goat, But she gets there just the same." Verses comparing the methods and results of several groups
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: discrimination train clothes travel drink food money
FOUND_IN: US(SE,Ap)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
BrownIII 477, "White Cal, Yaller Gal, Black Gal" (5 texts plus 3 fragments; 3 of the texts have the chorus of "Coming Round the Mountain (II -- Charming Betsey)"); also 483, "Rich Man Ride on a Pullman Car" (1 fragment)
Darling-NAS, p. 355, "[no title]" (1 text)
Roud #7052
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Coming Round the Mountain (II -- Charming Betsey)" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: I've heard this sung by Sixties folk groups in a form which contrasts city and country girls. This may be the original form -- but I suspect it's a clean-up.
The version in Darling is only a fragment, but describes the fate of Blacks forced to ride "Jim Crow cars" on trains (poor-quality cars, often used to ship animals and, quite possibly, not cleaned out after being used for such a purpose).
Brown's verses are much more diverse: The White women ride cars, yellow women ride trains; Blacks are stuck in carts. Whites use cold cream, Blacks lard. Clothing, beds, alcoholic beverages -- in all cases, the Blacks have it worst, but they look good, sleep, get drunk just the same.
What appears to be a rewrite by Decie Smith appears on pp. 94-95 of Doug deNatale and Glenn Hinson, in their article, "The Southern Textile Song Tradition Reconsidered," published in Archie Green, editor, _Songs about Work: Essays in Occupational Culture for Richard A. Reuss_, Folklore Institute, Indiana University, 1993. It is a piece written in commemoration of Smith's half century in the mills, and is an ironic praise of the boss. - RBW
File: DarNS355
===
NAME: She Had a Dark and a Rovin' Eye: see The Fire Ship (File: EM068)
===
NAME: She is Far From the Land
DESCRIPTION: "She is far from the land where her young hero sleeps." She rejects other lovers. She sings wild songs he loved about home. "He had lived for his country, for his country he died." She will join him soon.
AUTHOR: Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1846 (_Irish Melodies_ by Thomas Moore, according to Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: grief love death nonballad patriotic
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Moylan 157, "She Is Far From the Land" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 332-333, "She Is Far From the Land"
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), pp. 267-268, (no title) (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 20(142), "She Is Far From the Land" ("She is far from the land where her young hero sleeps"), J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Firth b.26(319), "She Is Far From the Land"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh! Breathe Not His Name" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "When He Who Adores Thee" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
cf. "The Man from God-Knows-Where" (subject: concealed allusions to Robert Emmet)
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 77 fn. 11 uses "She is far from the land" as an example of "songs [that] evoke prudently Robert Emmet's fate." - BS
If so, that gives an interesting possible dual meaning to this one. One part would refer to the many Irish exiles around the world. The other might refer to Sarah Curran, Emmet's sweetheart, who was disowned by her father for her closeness to the condemnned rebel. No one seems to know her final fate, though.
Moore, we should add, knew Emmet; according to Robert Kee, Moore was "Emmet's old friend and fellow student at Trinity" (see _The Most Distressful Country_, being volumeI of _The Green Flag_, p. 168). Kee regards Moore as having "set the tone" for Emmet's legend. - RBW
Moylan: "The subject of this song is Sarah Curran, Emmet's fiancee and daughter of John Philpot Curran, the lawyer who had defended Wolfe Tone." Hayes's notes are along the same line, but with more details. - BS
File: BrdSHFfL
===
NAME: She Is More to Be Pitied than Censured
DESCRIPTION: A pack of boys jeer at "a girl who had fallen to shame." An old woman declares "She is more to be pitied than censured," and points out that "a man was the cause of it all." A clergyman, too, hopes she will find God's pity
AUTHOR: William B. Gray
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Richard Brooks & Reuben Puckett)
KEYWORDS: infidelity help
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 190-191, "She Is More to Be Pitied than Censured" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 267, "She Is More To Be Pitied Than Censured" (1 text)
DT, PITYCENS*
Roud #15477
RECORDINGS:
Richard Brooks & Reuben [or Riley] Puckett, "She's More To Be Pitied" (Brunswick 281, 1928; Supertone S-2075, 1930)
Four Aces, "She's More to be Pitied" (Bluebird B-7765/Montgomery Ward M-7724, 1938)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "She's More to be Pitied than Censured" (Melotone 12241 [may have been issued as by Bob Lester & Bud Green], 1931; Conqueror 8004 [as Mac and Bob], 1932; rec. 1930)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Let Old Nellie Stay" (theme)
File: SRW190
===
NAME: She Just Kept Kissing On: see Kissing Song (II -- She Just Kept Kissing On) (File: Br3313)
===
NAME: She Leaves Memphis: see Captain Jim Rees and the Katie (File: MWhee010)
===
NAME: She Loves Coffee and I Love Tea
DESCRIPTION: "I love coffee, I love tea, I love the boys and the boys love me, Wish my mama would hold her tongue, She loved the boys when she was young." "I wish my papa would do the same, For he caused a girl to change her name."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: courting nonballad playparty
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 91, "She Loves Coffee and I Love Tea" (2 text plus 1 excerpt and mention of 2 more)
Roud #740
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Grandma's Advice" (theme)
NOTES: This looks like it might be a fragment of "Grandma's Advice" or something similar. Since, however, the Brown texts all seem to survive in similar form, I've given it a separate listing. - RBW
I concede that it is a stretch to make a connection with Opie-Oxford2 386, "One, two, three": "One, two, three, I love coffee, And Billy loves tea, How good you be, One, two, three, I love coffee, And Billy loves tea" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1842). - BS
Whatever the origin of the Opie item, it is also found in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #629, p. 249-250. - RBW
File: Br3091
===
NAME: She May Have Seen Better Days
DESCRIPTION: "While strolling along Õmidst the cityÕs vast throng, On a night that was bitterly cold," the singer sees a crowd teasing a woman in tears. She has clearly fallen on hard times, but someone notes "she might have seen better days." The crowd is silenced
AUTHOR: James Thornton
EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: drink poverty hardtimes
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, pp. 123-124, "She May Have Seen Better Days" (1 text)
Roud #9582
NOTES: According to Sigmund Spaeth, _A History of Popular Music in America_, pp. 255-256, James Thornton was a very popular songwriter from about 1892 to 1898, producing such songs as "My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon," "Don't Give Up the Old Love for the New," "Going for a Pardon," and (especially) "When You Were Sweet Sixteen." Spaeth, p. 256, notes that this song is "usually paired with William B. Gray's She Is More to Be Pitied than Censured" as the acme of the maudlin." - RBW
File: Dean123
===
NAME: She Moved Through the Fair (Our Wedding Day)
DESCRIPTION: Singer meets his love, who tells him it will not be long until their wedding day, then leaves and "moves through the fair." (Later, her ghost repeats that it will not be long until their wedding. Alternately, she deserts him and he enlists in the army)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Hughes)/1926 (Sam Henry)
KEYWORDS: love wedding death ghost nightvisit supernatural abandonment army
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Kennedy 165, "Our Wedding Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H141, pp. 395-396, "Out of the Window" (1 text, 1 tune); H534, p. 454, "Our Wedding Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, pp. 153-154, "My Young Love Said to Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MOVEFAIR
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), p. 322, "She Moved Through the Fair" (1 text, the Colum recension)
Roud #861
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry, "She Moved Through the Fair" (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742, Voice10); "She Moved Through the Fair (Our Wedding Day)"and "She Moved Through the Fair" [long version] (both on IRMBarry-Fairs; one of these is the same as the preceding); "She Moves Through the Fair" (on Pubs1)
Robert Cinnamond, "She Moves Through the Fair" (on IRRCinnamond02)
Francis McPeake, "Our Wedding Day" (on FSB1)
Pete Seeger, "She Moved Through the Fair" (on PeteSeeger14)
Paddy Tunney, "Our Wedding Day" (on IRPTunney01)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Once Had a True Love" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: [The well-known version "She Moved Through the Fair" is credited to Padraic Colum (lyrics) and Herbert Hughes (arrangement of traditional tune). This was published in 1909 in volume I of Hughes's _Irish Country Songs_. - RBW]
Colum and Hughes apparently pieced this together from traditional fragments. The Margaret Barry version has become canonical in the folk revival -- but she learned it from a John McCormack 78! - PJS
Proving exactly what happened here is a difficult task, because the first actual publication of the song was of the Colum/Hughes text in 1909. But it's noteworthy that traditional versions, such as Kennedy's and the Sam Henry "Out of the Window," are much longer than the Colum/Hughes text.
It would appear that Colum and Hughes did more cutting-down than actual reworking. If we compare the "standard" text of "She Moved Through the Fair" with, say, the Kennedy text, we find that Colum's first two stanzas are straight out of tradition. The final stanza, about the dead love, is largely from traditional sources -- but doesn't mention the dead love! And we see parallels to that verse in one of the Sam Henry texts (H534), though the latter may have been inspired by the published text.
Margaret Barry's version omits the third stanza of the Colum text. I observe that this verse doesn't scan very well to the tune; you can make it fit, but it sounds a bit unnatural.
Kennedy actually refers *five* texts in the Henry collection to this piece, but only the two above are properly this song; the others are of the "If I Were A Blackbird/Courting Too Slow" type (and filed on that basis); they may have influenced Colum's final verse (since there are lyric similarities), but they are assuredly not the same song.
I thought about listing "She Moved Through the Fair" and "Our Wedding Day" as two separate songs, but this would obscure the clear relationship between the two. I decided on the title "She Moved Through the Fair," even though it's not properly traditional, because it is so much more familiar. - RBW
Tunney-StoneFiddle: The first verse is identical to Padraic Collum's "She Moved Through the Fair." Tunney refers also to a Sam Henry version "but my mother's tune and indeed some of the words are quite different." The reference seems to be to H534, p. 454, "Our Wedding Day." - BS
File: K165
===
NAME: She Moves Through the Fair: see She Moved Through the Fair (Our Wedding Day) (File: K165)
===
NAME: She Perished in the Snow: see Three Perished in the Snow [Laws G32] (File: LG32)
===
NAME: She Promised She'd Meet Me: see Hungry Hash House (File: San207)
===
NAME: She Said She Was Only Flirting
DESCRIPTION: "They stood on the beach at evening, Under the sunset so fair." He tells of his love for her; she tells him, "Oh sir, I was only flirting...." She says she is engaged to another, and goes her way. We are told he is "Too soon grown worn and old."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love courting lie betrayal parting
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 764, "She Said She Was Only Flirting" (1 text plus mention of 1 more, 1 tune)
Roud #7359
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Willie Down by the Pond (Sinful to Flirt)" [Laws G19]
cf. "Juanita" (theme)
NOTES: The middle stanzas of this piece are almost identical in meaning (except with genders reversed) to "Juanita," though the wording is somewhat different. The endings, however, are completely different. - RBW
File: R764
===
NAME: She Said the Same to Me
DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in the month of August, or the middle of July, One evening I went walking, a fair maiden I did spy; She was mournin' for her true love, who was in Amerikee, Agh, divil a word I said to her, and she said the same to me!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: separation emigration
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, pp. 38-39, "She Said the Same to Me" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #13616
File: San038
===
NAME: She Sat on Her Hammock: see Oh, How He Lied (File: FSWB031B)
===
NAME: She Tickled Me
DESCRIPTION: The singer meets Molly in Kent. Seeing her home they stop under a tree to avoid the rain. "She tickled me and I tickled her." After twelve months they marry. After dinner "we had a few games of card dice and chess and we both toddled off into bed"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage humorous
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
McBride 63, "She Tickled Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Tickled Nancy" (floating lyrics)
File: McB1063
===
NAME: She Was a Rum One
DESCRIPTION: Singer falls in with a girl and asks why she walks in such an inhibited way. He says he can solve her problem; she says the problem lies between her thighs. He lays her down and provides a plaster, and says she's given him "a stable for my stallion"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1953 (recorded from Jeannie Robertson)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer, in the moonlight, falls in with a young girl walking and asks why she walks in such an inhibited way; she tells him to go away. He says he can solve her problem; she says the problem lies between her thighs, and its tickling keeps her from her striding. He lays her down and provides a plaster, whereby she can walk freely again. He says she's given him his winter's beef and fuel, but, better than that, "a stable for my stallion." Chorus: "She was a rum one, fol-the-diddle-di-do-day/But a bonny one, fol-the-diddle-di-do"
KEYWORDS: sex bawdy
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Kennedy 190, "She Was a Rum One" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, RUMONE*
Roud #2128
RECORDINGS:
Jeannie Robertson, "She is a Rum One" (on FSB2CD)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Seventeen Come Sunday" (general situation)
File: K190
===
NAME: She Was Happy Till She Met You
DESCRIPTION: A young wife leaves her abusive husband and goes home to her mother. Eventually he shows up at the mother's door, asking her forgiveness. The mother sends him away, saying, "She was happy till she met you, and the fault is all your own...."
AUTHOR: Charles Graham and Monroe H. Rosenfeld
EARLIEST_DATE: 1899 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: separation abuse abandonment husband wife
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 827, "She Was Happy Till She Met You" (2 texts)
BrownII 164, "She Was Happy till She Met You" (1 text)
Roud #6565
File: R827
===
NAME: She Was Poor But She Was Honest (I)
DESCRIPTION: A mock lament in which the village maid seduced goes to London to become a prostitute. While her customers prosper, she becomes a pox-ridden streetwalker burdened with piles. The moral: the rich takes their pleasures while the poor get the blame.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous
FOUND_IN: Australia Canada Britain(England) US(SW)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
Cray, pp. 128-132, "She Was Poor But She Was Honest I" (3 texts, 1 tune)
PBB 108, "She Was Poor, But She Was Honest" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 200-201, "It's The Syme the Whole World Over" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHJohnson, pp. 15-16, "She Was Poor But She Was Honest" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 27, "It's The Syme The Whole World Over" (1 text)
DT, SYMEOVR5*
Roud #9621
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "She Was Poor But She Was Honest (II)" (tune & meter)
NOTES: The Sandburg text is described as "fortified in part by H.L Mencken and a contributor to The American Mercury." - RBW
File: EM128
===
NAME: She Was Poor But She Was Honest (II)
DESCRIPTION: An adaptation of the English original, this is a lampoon of a former governor of Alabama, "Kissing Jim" Folsom, who sired a child out of wedlock.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1955
KEYWORDS: bawdy humorous political seduction
FOUND_IN: US(SW,So,Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Cray, pp. 132-133, "She Was Poor But She Was Honest II" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph-Legman I, pp. 286-288, "She Was Poor But She Was Honest" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SYMEOVER* SYMEOVR4
RECORDINGS:
Anonymous singer, "Big Jim Folsom" (on Unexp1)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "She Was Poor But She Was Honest (I)" (tune & meter)
File: EM132
===
NAME: She Won't Get Up: see Lazy Mary (She Won't Get Up) (File: R396)
===
NAME: She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain
DESCRIPTION: "She'll coming round the mountain when she comes." The unidentified "she" arrives with great pomp and ceremony, and is greeted with celebration (e.g. the killing and cooking of the old red rooster). The song often is supplemented by summer camp nonsense
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Henry Whitter)
KEYWORDS: travel nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (6 citations)
BrownIII 460, "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain" (1 text)
Sandburg, pp. 372-373, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune plus a spiritual Sandburg describes as the source of the song)
Lomax-FSNA 214 "She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 276, "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 496-497, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain"
DT, COMRND2*
Roud #4204
RECORDINGS:
H. M. Barnes & his Blue Ridge Ramblers, "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain When She Comes" (Brunswick 310, 1929/Supertone S-2052, 1930)
Vernon Dalhart, "She's Comin' Round the Mountain" (Montgomery Ward M-8148, 1939)
Vernon Dalhart & Co., "She's Comin' 'Round the Mountain" (Edison 51608, 1925)
Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (Brunswick 181/Vocalion 5240 [as the Hill Billies], 1927)
Uncle Dave Macon & John McGhee, "Comin' Round the Mountain" (Brunswick 263, 1928; Brunswick 425, 1930)
John D. Mounce et al, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (on MusOzarks01)
Elmo Newcomer, "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" CroMart 100, n.d. but prob. late 1940s - early 1950s)
Parman and Snyder, "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" (OKeh 45302, 1929; rec. 1928)
Pickard Family, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (Oriole 1502/Conqueror 7251/Microphone [Canada] 22388, 1929; Challenge 992, n.d.; Broadway 8148 [as Pleasant Family], n.d.)
Red River Dave, "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" (Musicraft 287, 1944)
Rhythm Wreckers, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (Vocalion 3341, 1936)
Carson Robison [Trio], "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" (Crown 3027, c. 1930)
Roe Bros. & Morrell, "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" (Columbia 15156-D, 1927)
Pete Seeger, "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" (on PeteSeeger03, PeteSeegerCD03) (on PeteSeeger21)
Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (Columbia 15200-D, 1927; rec. 1926)
Henry Whitter, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" (OKeh 40063, 1924)
Jimmie Wilson & his Catfish String Band, "She's Comin' Round the Mountain" (Victor V-40163, 1929)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Ship of Zion (I)" (form, tune, lyrics)
cf. "I Am Growing Old and Gray" (tune)
cf. "Drive It On" (tune)
cf. "Ye Cannae Shove Yer Granny" (tune)
cf. "Ding Dong Dollar" (tune)
cf. "Ballymurphy" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
I'm Going to Ship on the Mike Davis (Wheeler, p. 115)
Bill Cox, "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain - No. 2" (Supertone 9556, 1929) [Also apparently issued as by Charley Blake, same record number]
Fiddlin' John Carson, "The New 'Comin' Round the Mountain'" (Bluebird B-5401, 1934)
Mickey Katz, "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Katzkills" (Capitol 1718, 1951)
Anonymous singer, "There's a 'Skeeter" (on Unexp1)
NOTES: Fuld reports that "substantially this melody" was in print in 1899 in "Old Plantation Hymns," but the text was "When the Chariot Comes." Fuld assumes the "Round the Mountain" lyrics are more recent (he knows of no printing before Sandburg).
The notes in Brown list it as a "parody or secularization of 'The Old Ship of Zion'" (included in the index as "The Old Ship of Zion (I), but note that the phrase is not found in Sandburg's spiritual version); Roud goes so far as to lump them. The Brown text does mention Mary, though it's not clear that this is the mother of Jesus. - RBW
The anonymous singer on Unexp1 sings "There's a 'skeeter on my peter, sweet Marie." Folk process. - PJS
File: San372
===
NAME: She's a Flower from the Fields of Alabama
DESCRIPTION: "It was one evening long ago" when the singer went to ask the hand of the girl. Her mother gladly consents. He looks back happily. Chorus: "She's a flower from the fields of Alabam, Take her for she loves you, yes I know...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Emry Arthur)
KEYWORDS: love courting marriage
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, FLWRALBM
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "She's a Flower from the Fields of Alabama" (Vocalion 5234, 1928)
[Richard] Burnett & [Leonard] Rutherford, "She's a Flower from the Fields of Alabama" (Gennett 6688/Challenge 420 [as Bunch & Jennings], 1929; rec. 1928; on BurnRuth01, KMM)
Sue & Rawhide, "She's a Flower from the Fields of Alabama" (OKeh 45577, 1934)
NOTES: Given the near-lack of plot, I have to suspect that this is a nineteenth century parlour piece. But I can't trace it back past the Burnett & Rutherford recording (made at their last dated recording session in 1928). - RBW
I've traced it back a little farther; the Emry Arthur recording was made sometime in January, 1928, while the Burnett & Rutherford was made on October 29 of that year. - PJS
File: DTflweral
===
NAME: She's Gone to be a Mormonite
DESCRIPTION: "I'll tell you what I'm going to do And that without delay, I'll pack my trunk and I'll be off, I'll go this very day." The singer tells of a girl who's "Gone to be a Mormonite In the new Jerusalem." (He?) knows not where she is, except that she's Mormon
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: separation travel marriage religious
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 501, "She's Gone to be a Mormonite" (1 text)
Roud #7640
NOTES: Although I have no direct evidence of it, I suspect -- both for psychological reasons (why would a *girl* want to be a Mormon?) and the strange constructions in Randolph's text of the song -- that it was a man who was originally referred to here. (So, apparently, in Hubbard's version.) How it came to refer to a woman I do not know.
To be fair, there was a legend that said that Mormon men were particularly sexually proficient (see the notes to "The Mormon Cowboy" in Logdson's _The Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing_), and Fawn M. Brodie's biography of Joseph Smith, _No Man Knows My History_ (1945, 1971; I use the 1995 Vintage Books edition), p. xii, notes that Smith had some fifty wives in his life, most of them voluntary -- and that over 200 wives "married" him after his death. (Of course, they were safe from him when dead.) - RBW
File: R501
===
NAME: She's Got the Money Too: see He's Got the Money Too (File: R299)
===
NAME: She's Like the Swallow
DESCRIPTION: "She's like a swallow that flies so high, She's like a river that never runs dry, She's like the sunshine on the lee shore, I love my love and love is no more." A lament for a lost girl: "She laid her down, no word she spoke, until [her] heart was broke"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Karpeles-Newfoundland)
KEYWORDS: death separation loneliness
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Peacock, pp. 711-714, "She's Like the Swallow" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 140-141, "She's Like the Swallow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke/MacMillan 63, "She's Like the Swallow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 83, "She's Like the Swallow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl, p. 120, "She's Like the Swallow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 150, "She's Like The Swallow" (1 text)
DT, SWLLOW*
Roud #2306
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "She's Like the Swallow" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Omar Blondahl, "She's Like the Swallow" (on NFOBlondahl05)
NOTES: Fowke observes, "The lines suggest an English origin, and probably they formed part of a longer song [perhaps similar to "The Butcher Boy"?], but the years have polished the fragment that survives until it approaches perfection." - RBW
File: FJ140
===
NAME: Shearer and the Swaggie, The
DESCRIPTION: A gun shearer finishes his work, collects his pay, and takes to the road. He meets a swaggie; they camp. In the night, afraid for his pay, he flees at a noise. The swaggie also runs, afraid of the shearer. They meet again and wonder why they are running
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1987
KEYWORDS: money rambling hobo sheep
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Covell/Brown, pp. 147-149, "The Shearer and the Swaggie" (1 tune)
File: MCB147
===
NAME: Shearer's Dream
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I dreamt I shore in a shearin'-shed, and it was a dream of joy, For every one of the rouseabouts was a girl dressed up as a boy." He dreams of clean sheep, of a cool, comfortable shed, of happy dances with the girls... and wakes to find it a dream
AUTHOR: attributed to Henry Lawson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1902 (Lawson's _Children of the Bush_)
KEYWORDS: dream work sheep Australia
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 116-117, "The Shearer's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manifold-PASB, pp. 164-165, "The Shearer's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 202-204, "The Shearer's Dream" (1 text)
NOTES: Henry Lawson published this, but it is not clear from the extant records whether he actually wrote it or just touched it up. Paterson/Fahey/Seal, note an informant who claim to have learned it in 1884. It is worth noting that two different tunes are known. - RBW
File: MA116
===
NAME: Shearer's Hardships, The: see The Station Cook (File: PASB090)
===
NAME: Shearer's Song, The: see Four Little Johnny Cakes (File: PFS276)
===
NAME: Shearin's Nae for You, The
DESCRIPTION: The girl is urged to "tak the ribbons fae yer hair" or the "flounces frae yer gown," because her "belly's roarin' fu'." She blames the young man (soldier?) for seducing her. He urges her to mind her baby. Other mutual accusations may follow
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1906 (Grieg collection)
KEYWORDS: sex seduction childbirth soldier dialog accusation abandonment
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, SHEARNAE* SHEARNA2*
Roud #4845
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Alford Vale" (tune)
cf. "Kelvingrove" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Bonnie Lassie O
NOTES: This song supplies the melody for a poem by Thomas Lyle, "Kelvingrove" or "Kelvin Grove," which apparently is sung in the Scottish schools despite being utterly disdained by folksingers.
Lest we be too nasty about Kelvin Grove, we note that the Kelvin Stream (a small river near Glasgow) gave its name to William Thomson, who would in time become Baron Kelvin of Largs (commonly called Lord Kelvin). The Kelvin temperature scale of course is named after him.
And well deserved, because -- while Kelvin did not invent thermodynamics (depending on how you look at things, either Sadi Carnot or James Joule did that), he expanded on Joule's work and made it a part of the standard physics. Which is extremely important, since thermodynamics is pretty much the basis of all of physics (e.g. the inverse square law governing gravity and electromagnetism follows from the first law of thermodynamics -- think of a source giving off a pulse of gravity waves, which expand along the surface of the sphere. Since the total energy must be constant, and the surface area of a sphere increases according to the square of the radius, the potential must decrease with the square of the radius.)
So, anyway, though Kelvingrove the poem is unmemorable, Kelvin the place has a noble niche in the history of science. - RBW
File: RcShNaYo
===
NAME: Shearing at the Castlereigh
DESCRIPTION: "The bells are set a-ringing and the engine gives a toot, There are five-and-thirty shearers here a-shearing for the loot." The shearers are reminded that London depends on Castlereigh wool. The boss complains that the shearers were "born to swing a pick"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: work boss sheep Australia
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 275, "Shearing at the Castlereigh" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA275
===
NAME: Sheath and Knife [Child 16]
DESCRIPTION: The princess (Jeannie) is pregnant by her brother. Rather than reveal the truth, the two leave for the greenwood, where he shoots here and buries her "with their bairn at her feet." He returns home, but even the joys of royalty cannot console him.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1796 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: murder incest pregnancy burial mourning royalty
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Child 16, "Sheath and Knife" (6 texts)
Bronson 16, "Sheath and Knife" (2 versions)
DT 16, SHEATHKF* SHTHKNF2 SHTHKNF3
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #64, "Sheath and Knife" (1 text)
Roud #3960
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Leesome Brand" [Child 15] (lyrics about the "sheathe and knife)
cf. "The Bonnie Hind" [Child 50] (plot, lyrics)
NOTES: On the scientific evidence that brothers and sisters raised apart are particularly likely to fall in love, and some further speculation as to why, see the notes to "Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie [Child 14]." - RBW
File: C016
===
NAME: Sheelicks
DESCRIPTION: About a riotous wedding, attended by all whether invited or not, at McGinty's. A tailor with a wooden leg loses it in mid-dance; a cyclist is carried home in a wheelbarrow; a man comes with a hundred pounds, goes home with nothing. Plus the food is bad.
AUTHOR: George Bruce Thomson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan3)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Singer tells of a riotous wedding, attended by all whether invited or not, at McGinty's Meal and Ale. Mrs. McGinty trips over a pig; a tailor with a wooden leg loses it in mid-dance; a bicyclist is carried home in a wheelbarrow; another man comes with a hundred pounds, goes home with nothing. The food is bad, besides. Chorus: "Hi, hi, went the drum! Diddle, diddle, went the fiddle/.../And the jing-a-ring went roond aboot like sheelicks in a riddle"
KEYWORDS: disability wedding dancing drink food party humorous animal
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland))
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Greig 134, pp. 2-3, "Sheelicks" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 614, "Sheelicks" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 109, "Sheelicks" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MEALNAL2*
Roud #2518
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Blythesome Bridal" (theme) and references there
cf. "The Deil Amon' the Tailors" (tune, per Greig)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
McGinty's Wedding
NOTES: [MacColl & Seeger's] informant, Maggie McPhee, has evidently transplanted bits of another Thompson piece, "McGinty's Meal and Ale", into "Sheelicks." His compositions evidently entered tradition around the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, as Greig collected them from informants over a wide area. "Sheelicks", by the way, are husked grain; a riddle is a sieve. - PJS
File: McCST109
===
NAME: Sheep Shell Corn by the Rattle of His Horn
DESCRIPTION: "Sheep shell corn by the rattle of his horn, blow, horn, blow, Send to the mill by the whippoorwill." "O! blow your horn, blow, horn, blow" (x2) Verses about life at corn-shucking time and a desire to have done for the day.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: work food animal
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 196, "Sheep Shell Corn by the Rattle of His Horn" (1 text plus 1 fragment and a mention of 1 more)
File: Br3196
===
NAME: Sheep Stealer, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer goes out in "the night when the moon do shine bright, There's a number of work to be done ... on another man's ground." He steals sheep and takes them home to be butchered by his children while he stands guard against the constable.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (ENMacCollSeeger02)
KEYWORDS: sheep children thief theft
FOUND_IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, SHPSTEAL
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Sheep Stealer" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
NOTES: From ENMacCollSeeger02 album cover notes: "H.E.D. Hammond recorded two Dorset sets of this curious song in 1905 and 1906." - BS
File: RcTShSte
===
NAME: Sheep-Shearing, The
DESCRIPTION: Singer praises sheep and shearing. The singer laments that the sheep must be sheared in the June heat. In some versions, the singer tells of the master's demands for more wool. The song ends "when all our work is done" and the crew goes celebrating
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1760
KEYWORDS: work nonballad sheep drink
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Sharp-100E 95, "The Sheep Shearing" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 267, "The Black Ram" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SHEEPSHR SHEEPSH2*
Roud #879
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Sweet Nightingale" (tune)
NOTES: "The Sweet Nightingale", with which this song shares a tune, is not to be confused with "One Morning in May". -PJS
File: ShH95
===
NAME: Sheepcrook and Black Dog
DESCRIPTION: The singer asks the girl to marry him. She says she is too young; she will work for a fine lady for a time. Later she writes to him to say that she is happy where she is and does not wish to wed a shepherd. He abandons his work and its tools
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1775 (broadside, "The Constant Shepherd and the Unconstant Shepherdess")
KEYWORDS: love betrayal work servant shepherd youth
FOUND_IN: Ireland Britain(England), Canada(Mar,Newf,Ont)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
SHenry H30a, p. 390, "My Flora and I" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 70, "Sheep-Crook and Black Dog" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 480-481, "My Flora and Me" (1 text plus an excerpt, 2 tunes)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 58, "Floro" (1 text, 3 tunes)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 82, "The Young Shepherd" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #948
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "Sheepcrook and Black Dog" (on ENMacCollSeeger02)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Fine Laurel
The Unkind Shepherdess
File: HHH030a
===
NAME: Sheepfold, The
DESCRIPTION: "Whilst tyrants grasp with greedy aim ... As Friends of Freedom we aspire The Rights of Man for to require." Holy scripture tells "that all men shall be one sheepfold and under one great master." That time is coming and "we will strive to haste it faster"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1798 (_Paddy's Resource_(New York), according to Moylan)
KEYWORDS: nonballad political
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Moylan 16, "The Sheepfold" (1 text)
NOTES: The discussion of Jesus as Shepherd occupies most of John 10, with the reference to one flock and one shepherd in John 10:16. - RBW
File: Moyl016
===
NAME: Sheepskin and Beeswax: see Aunt Jemimah's Plaster (File: R414)
===
NAME: Sheepwasher, The
DESCRIPTION: "When first I took the Western track, 'twas many years ago, No master then stood up so high, no servant stood so low." The singer recalls how he used to have a much better life. He urges ordinary Queenslanders to unite against tyranny
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: Australia hardtimes poverty work
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Manifold-PASB, p. 138, "The Sheepwasher" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: PASB138
===
NAME: Sheepwasher's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come now, ye sighing washers all, Join in my doleful lay, Mourn for the times none can recall." The singer remembers good days: "The master was a worker then, The servant was a man." But since the sixties, conditions have grown much worse
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Paterson's _Old Bush Songs_)
KEYWORDS: hardtimes sheep work
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 204-207, "The Sheepwasher's Lament" (1 text)
File: PFS204
===
NAME: Sheet Mill Man
DESCRIPTION: "Go away, go away, you sheet mill man, There's a better job in a distant land." The singer plans to head for Knoxville, but arrives home "condemned to die." People cheat him of his pay. He asks to be buried with with "an old flat sheet"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934 (Henry)
KEYWORDS: technology death burial hardtimes drink
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 12-13, "Sheet Mill Man" (1 text)
NOTES: Nowhere in Henry's (seemingly unique) text does it explain why the sheet mill worker is condemned to die; he goes away to marry a wife in Knoxville, but he comes home sounding like a condemned prisoner. Is it that he cannot find a job elsewhere and so simply has to return to the old grind? Or is it perhaps an industrial accident? The informant learned it at an aluminum plant in Alcoa, Tennessee -- but, at the time this song was composed, there does not seem to have been any reason to think aluminum dangerous. John Emsley, _Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements_, Oxford, 2001, 2003, p. 22. reports that high blood levels of aluminum can cause "dialysis dementia," but this was not known until the 1970s. - RBW
File: MH012
===
NAME: Sheffield 'Prentice Boy, The: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39)
===
NAME: Sheffield Apprentice, The [Laws O39]
DESCRIPTION: The singer abandons his work in London to go to Holland. His new mistress proposes marriage. He refuses her; he is already engaged. His mistress plants evidence on him and has him condemned as a thief. He bids his Polly farewell and is hanged
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1804
KEYWORDS: travel courting farewell trick lie execution apprentice
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(Scotland,England)
REFERENCES: (21 citations)
Laws O39, "The Sheffield Apprentice"
Belden, pp. 131-132, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text)
Flanders/Brown, pp. 94-96, "In the Town of Oxford" (1 text, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 55, "The Holland Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 80, "Way Up in Sofield (or, The Sheffield Apprentice)"; 152, "The Sheffield 'Prentice" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
JHCox 83, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text)
BrownII 120, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more)
Chappell-FSRA 80, "The Sheffield Prentice" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 57, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text)
Cambiaire, pp. 80-81, "Farewell, Lovely Polly" (1 text)
Dean, pp. 18-19. "The Apprentice Boy" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 16, "The Sherfield (sic.) Apprentice" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
SharpAp 97, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (5 texts, 5 tunes)
SHenry H31, p. 411, "The 'Prentice Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 192-194, "The Sheffield 'Prentice Boy" ( text)
Ord, pp. 421-422, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 203-206, "The Sheffield Prentice" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 17, "The Sheffield Prentice" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 709-710, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 132, "The Sheffield Apprentice" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
DT 489, SHEFFAPP*
Roud #399
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(23), "Sheffield Apprentice," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Firth b.26(316), Firth b.34(270), Firth b.26(499), Harding B 11(624), Harding B 15(281a), "Sheffield Apprentice"; 2806 c.16(20), Harding B 11(3489), Firth b.34(269), Harding B 25(1763), Harding B 17(282a), Harding B 28(235), Harding B 28(249), Harding B 11(4098), Harding B 11(3490)[a few illegible words], Harding B 15(282a), Harding B 20(127), "[The] Sheffield 'Prentice"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Child Owlet" [Child 291]
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
I Was Brought Up in Cornwall
The Apprentice Boy
NOTES: Compare this story to the biblical tale of Joseph and Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:1-20) - RBW
File: LO39
===
NAME: Sheffield Prentice, The: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39)
===
NAME: Sheila Nee Iyer
DESCRIPTION: Singer meets Sheila Nee Iyer. She tells him to leave off flattering and go away. He claims he would never prove false. "O had I the wealth of the Orient ... I would robe you in splendour"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1979 (Tunney-StoneFiddle)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection money
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 117, "Sheila Nee Iyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3108
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Eileen McMahon" (aisling format)
cf. "Granuaile" (aisling format) and references there
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sheela na Guira
Sile Ni Ghadhra
NOTES: As in "Lough Erne Shore" and "The Colleen Rue," there is no resolution for the Tunney-StoneFiddle version.
"Sheila Nee Iyer, is surely a brilliant parody of the hedge schoolmaster aisling." (source: _For Want of Education:The origins of the Hedge Schoolmaster songs_ by Julie Henigan - 19.8.99 originally published in Ulster Folklife No 40 (1994): pp 27-38, reproduced at the Musical Traditions site).
Tunney-StoneFiddle, in a chapter titled "Gael meets Greek," writes "In the whole corpus of traditional song couched in the borrowed Bearla [English], there are none to compare with the high-minded effusions of our hedge-school-master poets. These songs are readily recognisable by the plenitude of classical allusions they contain and by the adaptation of the Gaelic assonantal rhyme, used extensively by the Gaelic Aisling poets of the eighteenth century." The songs in that chapter, illustrating his point, are "Lough Erne Shore," "Sheila Nee Iyer," "Colleen Rue" and "The Flower of Gortade"; the most extreme example among those is "Sheila Nee Iyer." - BS
For discussion of aislings, see the notes to "Eileen McMahon" and "Granuaile." For a list of songs in the Index meeting the definition of the Aisling, see "Granuaile."
File: TSF117
===
NAME: Shells of the Ocean: see I Never Will Marry [Laws K17] (File: LK17)
===
NAME: Shenandoah
DESCRIPTION: Usually has chorus "Away, you rolling river... Away, we're bound away, across the wide Missouri (world of Misery, etc.)" The basic text seems to have told of the white man who "loved the Indian maiden" but came from a different world and now is returning
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c. 1903 (recording, Minster Singers)
KEYWORDS: shanty courting separation Indians(Am.)
FOUND_IN: US(MA,MW,NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (23 citations)
Doerflinger, p. 77, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Walton/Grimm/Murdock, pp. 36-37, "Shenandore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Bone, pp. 104-105, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Colcord, p. 83, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 112-114, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 173-178, "Shenandoah" (4 texts, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 140-143]
Sharp-EFC, XI, p. 13, "Shanadar (First version)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Linscott, pp. 148-149, "Shenandoah or The Wide Missouri" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 66-67, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 24, "Shanadore" (1 text)
Mackenzie 105, "Rolling River" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 408, "The Wide Mizzoura" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 41, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 25, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 543-546, "The Wild Miz-zou-rye" (1 text, 1 tune); p. 546, "Shenandoah" (1 text)
Fife-Cowboy/West 1, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 314-315, "Shenandoah" (1 text)
Arnett, p. 44, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 17, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 85, "Shenandoah" (1 text)
DT, SHENDOAH*
ADDITIONAL: Captain John Robinson, "Songs of the Chantey Man," a series published July-August 1917 in the periodical _The Bellman_ (Minneapolis, MN, 1906-1919). "Shenandoah!" is in Part 2, 7/21/1917.
Maud Karpeles, _Folk Songs of Europe_, Oak, 1956, 1964, p. 48, "Shanadar" (1 text, 1 tune, from Sharp; I suspect it may be composite; see the notes to "Shanadar (I)")
ST Doe077 (Full)
Roud #324
RECORDINGS:
[Al] Campbell & [Henry] Burr, "Shenandoah" (Columbia A-2300, 1917) (Victor 18327, 1917)
Minster Singers, "Shenandoah" (Victor 61147, n.d., prob. c. 1903)
Paul Robeson, "Shenandoah" (Victor 27430, 1941)
Pete Seeger, "Shenandoah" (on PeteSeeger18)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Shanadar" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
World of Misery
Across the Wide Missouri
The Rolling River
NOTES: Bone reports, "I have never heard this song sung at other duty than weighing anchor.... The very beauty of the air has even curbed the license of wild singers in the text. No bawdy lines, no plaint of mistreatment, no blasphemous exhortations were ranted in the singing of it." - RBW
File: Doe077
===
NAME: Shenandoah (II)
DESCRIPTION: Capstan shanty. "Oh, Shenandoh, my bully boy, I long to hear you holler, Way-ay, ay ay ay, Shenandoh. I lub ter bring er tot er tum en see ye make a swoller, Way-ay..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1914 (F.T. Bullen & W.F. Arnold, _Songs of Sea Labor_)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong
FOUND_IN: South America
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, p. 177, "Shenandoah" (1 text, 1 tune-quoted from Bullen) [AbEd, p. 144]
Roud #324
NOTES: According to Hugill, this was a Negro shanty, but not used so much as sea as when heaving at the winches when working cargo. Bullen collected it in Georgetown, Demerara, South Africa. - SL
File: Hugi177
===
NAME: Shenandoah, The: see The Gals O' Dublin Town (File: Hugi140)
===
NAME: Shenandore: see Shenandoah (File: Doe077)
===
NAME: Shepherd Boy, The (David and Goliath)
DESCRIPTION: The singer dreams and sees a shepherd boy. The boy, David, is leaving his flock to go to the camp of Israel as they fight the Philistines. David kills Goliath with his sling. The singer drinks the health of the shepherd boy
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1895 (Graham)
KEYWORDS: Bible fight soldier
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
SHenry H803, p. 79, "The Shepherd Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Graham, p. 6, "The Shepherd's Boy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5667
NOTES: The story of David and Goliath (actually *two* stories, carefully blended together, in one of which David is Saul's aide/court musician and in another he is a shepherd visiting the battle) is found in 1 Samuel 17.
This is reported to have originated as a Masonic song, but Moulden reports it is now sung by Orangemen, doubtless because of its theme of the small holding off the big and powerful. - RBW
File: HHH803
===
NAME: Shepherd Lad o' Rhynie, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come ye, oh come, my bonnie lass, We'll both join hands and marry." The girl wishes she could, but her father "keeps me under guard." Unable to win the girl, he jumps off a cliff in Rhynie. She dies for love
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: love courting suicide death father
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 466-467, "The Shepherd Lad o' Rhynie" (1 text)
Roud #5152
File: Ord466
===
NAME: Shepherd Laddie, The: see The Crook and Plaid (File: HHH617)
===
NAME: Shepherd on the Hill, The
DESCRIPTION: "Whaur Gairn's bonnie mountain strea Fa's into winding Dee, Aft 'mang the shady birks we've met, My shepherd lad and me." He sets out to meet her on a cold winter's night, but never appears. At last his frozen body is found.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: love courting death
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 293-294, "The Shepherd on the Hill" (1 text)
Roud #5646
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Young Charlotte (Fair Charlotte)" [Laws G17] (theme)
File: FVS293
===
NAME: Shepherd, O Shepherd: see O Shepherd, O Shepherd (File: VWL074)
===
NAME: Shepherd, The: see The Young Shepherd (I) (File: CrMa108)
===
NAME: Shepherd's Boy, The: see The Shepherd Boy (David and Goliath) (File: HHH803)
===
NAME: Shepherd's Daughter and the King: see The Knight and the Shepherd's Daughter [Child 110] (File: C110)
===
NAME: Shepherd's Daughter, The: see The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter [Child 112] (File: C110)
===
NAME: Shepherd's Lament, The
DESCRIPTION: A (shepherd) and a young girl meet on a May morning. He wishes to marry, but she is too young and wishes to work as a servant. After she has left to go into the lady's service, he writes to ask her intent. She says that she never intended to marry him
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1767 (Journal from the Vaughn)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation apprentice servant youth floatingverses
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 227-228, "The Shepherd's Lament" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Green Bushes [Laws P2]" (theme, floating lyrics)
NOTES: This song consists almost entirely of floating material, with "The Green Bushes" being perhaps the largest single source (they also have some thematic similarities). But the result, in Huntington's opinion and my own, is a distinct song.
I don't know of any other pure versions, but it has so many traditional elements that I decided to include it in the Index. - RBW
File: SWMS227
===
NAME: Shepherd's Son, The: see The Baffled Knight [Child 112] (File: C112)
===
NAME: Shepherd's Song, The
DESCRIPTION: "I'm a shepherd and I rise ere the sun is in the skies." The singer describes the hard work caring for, feeding, and selling sheep. If his girl will name the day they'll marry. He warns other shepherds against "fiery liquor" at show or fair.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1967 (recording, Willie Scott); c.1906 (according to Yates)
KEYWORDS: commerce work drink nonballad sheep shepherd
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #5124
RECORDINGS:
Willie Scott, "The Shepherd's Song" (on Voice20)
NOTES: Yates, Musical Traditions site _Voice of the People suite_ "Notes - Volume 20" - 15.1.04: "Willie (born 1897) learnt this sometime around 1906 from his brother Tom...." - BS
File: RcTSheSo
===
NAME: Shepherd's Virtuous Daughter, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer, fishing, is so taken by a girl he sees that he loses his line and hook in the brook. She is a shepherd's daughter come to bathe in the Boyne. He proposes. She suggest he have his parents find a more suitable bride.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1970 (Morton-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection fishing
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Morton-Ulster 20, "The Shepherd's Virtuous Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2879
File: MorU020
===
NAME: Shepherd's Wife, The: see O Shepherd, O Shepherd (File: VWL074)
===
NAME: Sherfield Apprentice, The: see The Sheffield Apprentice [Laws O39] (File: LO39)
===
NAME: Sheriff's Sale, The
DESCRIPTION: "'Tis misfortune o'ertook us, and a tale soon did tell; The Sheriff came in our old home for to sell." Mother and sister "prepare to depart from their old cottage door" but are spared: the purchaser of the auctioned home turns out to be a family member.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: poverty hardtimes help family home police
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 138-140, 255, "The Sheriff's Sale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4983
File: IvDC038
===
NAME: Sherman Cyclone, The [Laws G31]
DESCRIPTION: A great storm sweeps unexpectedly through Sherman, causing extensive damage and some loss of life
AUTHOR: Mattie Carter East
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: storm disaster death
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 15, 1896 - The Sherman tornado
FOUND_IN: US(So,SW)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Laws G31, "The Sherman Cyclone"
DT 795, SHERCYCL*
Roud #3260
NOTES: 1896 was apparently a bad year for tornadoes; on May 27 of that year a storm hit Saint Louis, killing 400 and leaving 5000 homeless. - RBW
File: LG31
===
NAME: Sherman's March to the Sea
DESCRIPTION: "Our campfires shone bright on those mountains That frowned on the river below... When a rider came out of the darkness... And shouted... 'Sherman will march to the sea.'" The Atlanta campaign and the March to the Sea are briefly retold
AUTHOR: Words: Lt. Samuel Hawkins Marshall Byers
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: Civilwar patriotic derivative
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: May 13-16, 1864 - William T. Sherman attacks J. E. Johnston's army at Resaca on the way from Tennessee to Atlanta. Sherman failed to move Johnston's army, but forced the Confederates to fall back by threatening their supply line
June 27, 1864 - Battle of Kenesaw Mountain. For the first (and only) time in the Atlanta campaign, Sherman tried a direct assault on Johnston's lines. It failed bloodily. Sherman then once again levered Johnston out of his lines by maneuver
(July 17, 1864 - Jefferson Davis relieves Johnston and replaces him with the more aggressive but less competent John Bell Hood. Hood's attacking strategy cost his army severely and by July 25 left him besieged in Atlanta)
Sept 1, 1864 - Hood evacuates Atlanta
Nov 15, 1864 - Sherman splits his army into two parts. One, under Thomas, was to defend Atlanta, while Sherman took nearly 60,000 men on the "March to the Sea"
Dec 10, 1864 - Sherman's forces reach Savannah
Dec 21, 1864 - Sherman captures Savannah
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Scott-BoA, pp. 248-250, "Sherman's March to the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hill-CivWar, pp. 206-207, "Sherman's March to the Sea" (1 text)
DT, SHERMSEA*
Roud #17738
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea
File: SBoA248
===
NAME: Shew Me the Way to Wallington: see The Way to Wallington (File: StoR148)
===
NAME: Shew! Fly, Don't Bother Me: see Shoo Fly (File: R273)
===
NAME: Shickered As He Could Be: see Four Nights Drunk [Child 274] (File: C274)
===
NAME: Shilling or Twa (I), A
DESCRIPTION: Describing the blessings of having "a shilling or twa" in the pocket. One can settle troubles, avoid bankruptcy, fool creditors, and also stay happy: "Oh! what a grand thing is a shilling or twa... It's a round ready passport, a shilling or twa."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1877 (Poet's Box broadside, according to GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: money commerce nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Greig 140, p. 3, "A Shilling or Twa" (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan3 669, "A Shillin' or Twa" (2 fragments)
Ord, pp. 388-389, "A Shilling or Twa" (1 text)
Roud #2177
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A Shilling or Twa (II)"
File: Ord388
===
NAME: Shilling or Twa (II), A
DESCRIPTION: Probably derived from "A Shilling or Twa (I)." The singer declares "Awa' wi' your dearies and juice o' the vine... gie me the glint o' a shillin' or twa." He rejects honor and fame; all he wants is "A bonnie, bright siller white shillin' or twa."
AUTHOR: Words: William Fleming
EARLIEST_DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: money commerce nonballad
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ord, pp. 389-390, "A Shilling or Twa" (1 text)
Roud #2178
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A Shilling or Twa (I)"
File: Ord389
===
NAME: Shiloh: see Limber Jim (File: BMRF593B)
===
NAME: Shiloh Brown (I): see Shallo Brown (Shallow Brown) (File: Doe044)
===
NAME: Shiloh Brown (II): see Tommy's Gone to Hilo (File: Doe030)
===
NAME: Shinbone Alley (Stay a Little Longer, Long Time Ago)
DESCRIPTION: "You ought to see my blue-eyed Sally, She lives way down in shinbone alley, No number on the gate, no number on the door, Folks around here are gettin' mighty poor." Unrelated verses about southern life, disasters, prison, rising creeks, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: home hardtimes poverty prison flood
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
BrownIII 422, "Shinbone Alley" (1 fragment)
~~~~~
Sources for "Stay All Night," the Bob Wills song:
ADDITIONAL: _Sing Out_ magazine, Volume 23, #2 (1974), p, 1, "Stay All Night" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11769
RECORDINGS:
cf. Bob Wills & his Texas Playboys, "Stay a Little Longer" (Columbia 37097, 1946)
NOTES: The notes in Brown describe this as common, but cite only one possibly-traditional version (in Odum and Johnson).
The problem in fact is very complex: What is the relationship of this traditional song to Bob Wills's "Stay a Little Longer"? The one verifiable traditional collection is Brown's, which came a few years after the Wills recording, but is significantly different -- some lyrics Wills didn't use, added chorus, etc.
Paul Stamler thinks they're the same. I waver, since there are are few printed fragments which seem to predate Wills by many decades. For the moment, I'm still listing this under Brown's title, but listing the Wills version as a likely by-blow or perhaps even a source. - RBW
File: Br3422
===
NAME: Shine and the Titanic (Titanic #14)
DESCRIPTION: Recitation. Shine is aboard the Titanic when the ship hits an iceberg. The captain's daughter asks Shine's help; he says, "Pussy's good... but this is one time I'm gonna save Shine's ass." The captain receives the same reply. Shine survives the wreck
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (recording by anonymous artist)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Recitation. Shine, a black man, is in the hold of the Titanic stacking sacks when the ship hits an iceberg. The captain's daughter asks Shine to save her; he says, "Pussy's good, while it lasts, but this is one time I'm gonna save Shine's ass." The captain offers him money; he gives the same reply. "The last time I seen Shine, he was dead drunk upon a airline"
KEYWORDS: sex request rejection help rescue ship drink disaster wreck recitation worker Black(s)
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: April 14/15, 1912 - Shortly before midnight, ship's time, the Titanic strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Only 711 survivors are found of 2224 people believed to have been aboard.
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 213-214, "Shine Reel" (1 fragment, 1 tune, mentioning being "Alabama Bound" but also mentioning some being on a boat that sank, so it might be part of this. Shine -- a name Scarborough connects with [shoe]shine -- is not mentioned by name)
RECORDINGS:
Unidentified reciter, "Shine and the Titanic" (on Unexp1)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
The Titanic Toast
NOTES: Paul Stamler suggests that the Shine of this song is the same as that of "Po' Shine," "Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos," and "Travelin' Man." If so, he had more lives than a cat.
For the record, while Captain Smith of the _Titanic_ did have a daughter, she was born in 1902 (see Stephanie Barczewski, _Titanic: A Night Remembered_ (Hambledon Continuum, 2004, p. 163), so Shine would have had a significant problem had he touched her. But she wasn't aboard the _Titanic__ anyway.
Nor could Shine have survived the wreck by swimming, as is found in some versions; the water at the time the ship sank was at a temperature of 28 degrees Farenheit, and exposure to it was fatal within minutes.
In any case, although historians have tried hard to find a Black aboard the _Titanic_, it appears that there were *none* on the ship. Zero. Quite certainly no American Blacks. (See, e.g., Steven Biel, _Down with the Old Canoe: A Cultural History of the Titanic Disaster_, Norton, 1997, p. 112).
According to Wyn Craig Wade, _The Titanic: End of a Dream_ (revised edition, Penguin, 1986), pp. 318-319, this recitation was collected at least 15 times; he cites Sandburg to the effect that Black soldiers knew and recited it in World War I.
For an extensive history of the _Titanic_, with detailed examination of the truth (or lack thereof) of quotes in the _Titanic_ songs, see the notes to "The Titanic (XV)" ("On the tenth day of April 1912") (Titanic #15) - RBW
File: RcShinTi
===
NAME: Shine Like a Star in the Morning
DESCRIPTION: John hears a voice, "I am Alpha Omega, the first and last/To conquer death in Hell did cast." Terrified, he sees Jesus crucified, falling into Hell, rising again. Chorus: "Shine, shine, shine like a star in the morning... All around the throne of God"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (recording, Joe Lee)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: John is standing alone when a voice tells him, "I am Alpha Omega, the first and last/To conquer death in Hell did cast." Terrified, he has a vision of Jesus crucified, falling into Hell, then rising up again; he says, "God gonna take me from that earthly 'bode." Chorus: "Shine, shine, shine like a star in the morning...All around the throne of God"
KEYWORDS: resurrection death Hell Bible religious Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (0 citations)
RECORDINGS:
Joe Lee, "Shine Like a Star in the Morning" (AFS 745 B4, 1936; on LC10)
NOTES: Most of this is, of course, taken from the Revelation to John (e.g. the reference to the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, occurs several times in that book, starting with 1:8).
An exception is the concept of the descent into Hell. Though firmly rooted in Catholic tradition, and mentioned in the traditional form of the Apostles' Creed (which is not Apostolic), there is no scriptural reference to such an event (unless you count Ephesians 4:9-11, which I would regard as a reference to the Incarnation, or other passages such as 1 Pet. 3:19, which may refer to proclamations of salvation to the damned). - RBW
File: RcSLaSiM
===
NAME: Shine on Me
DESCRIPTION: "Shine on me, oh shine on me/Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1921 ("Songs and Spirituals", Chicago, Overton-Hygienic Co.)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 76 "Shine On Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #10622
RECORDINGS:
Rev. Johnnie Blakey, "Let the Light Shine on Me" (OKeh 8758, 1930; rec. 1928)
Famous Garland Jubilee Singers, "Shine on Me" (Romeo 5135, 1932)
Blind Willie Johnson, "Let Your Light Shine on Me" (Columbia 14490-D, 1930; rec. 1929; on BWJ01, BWJ03)
Ernest Phipps & his Holiness Singers, "Shine on Me" (Bluebird 5540A, 1928; on AAFM2)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Let It Shine On Me
Let the Light From Your Lighthouse Shine On Me
NOTES: Found in both Anglo- and Afro-American tradition. - PJS
File: ADR76
===
NAME: Shining Dagger, The: see The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: LM04)
===
NAME: Ship A-Sailing, A
DESCRIPTION: "I saw a ship a-sailing, A-sailing on the sea, And it was deeply laden with pretty things for me. There were comfits in the cabin and almonds in the hold." The sails are satin; the mast, gold; the sailors, white mice; the captain, a duck.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1815 (Family album, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: talltale playparty nonballad ship animal
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Linscott, pp. 284-285, "A Ship A-Sailing" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Oxford2 470, "I saw a ship a-sailing" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #271, p. 163, "(I saw a ship a-sailing)"
ST Lins284 (Partial)
Roud #3742
NOTES: This seems to go back to Halliwell (1852), though Linscott connects it with a game called the "Duck Dance."
Katherine Elwes Thomas evolved the theory that the duck-Captain was Sir Francis Drake, while the "four-and-twenty white mice with chains about their necks" were slaves. I'd be more inclined to believe it if Thomas could bridge the more than two century gap between the actual song and the events it allegedly describes. - RBW
File: Lins284
===
NAME: Ship Came Sailing, A: see Waly Waly (The Water is Wide) (File: K149)
===
NAME: Ship Carpenter, The: see The Cruel Ship's Carpenter (The Gosport Tragedy; Pretty Polly) [Laws P36A/B] (File: LP36)
===
NAME: Ship Carpenter's Wife, The: see Sale of a Wife (File: HHH226)
===
NAME: Ship Euphrasia, The
DESCRIPTION: "Come all Christian people who do intend To know God's laws and his rights defend...." The singer tells of setting sail on a whaler, describes the horrid, rotten food, and complains of the isolation of the captain
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1849 (Journal from the Euphrasia)
KEYWORDS: whaler ship food hardtimes
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 47-49, "The Ship Euphrasia" ( text)
Roud #2013
File: SWMS047
===
NAME: Ship in Distress, The
DESCRIPTION: Sailors on a becalmed ship suffer starvation. They cast lots to determine which of them shall die to feed the rest. The one who is chosen asks that a sentry climb the topmast to search for aid while he prays. A ship is sighted and they are rescued.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (and 19th century broadsheets)
KEYWORDS: ship disaster cannibalism reprieve rescue starvation sailor
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Sharp-100E 90, "The Ship in Distress" (1 text, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 96, "The Ship in Distress" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SHPDSTRS*
Roud #807
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "A Nau Catarineta" (Portuguese)
cf. "La Courte Paille" (French) (plot)
cf. "Little Boy Billee (Le Petite Navire, The Little Corvette)" (plot)
cf. "The Silk Merchant's Daughter (I)" [Laws N10] (plot)
cf. "The Banks of Newfoundland (II)" (plot)
cf. "The American Aginora" (plot)
File: ShH90
===
NAME: Ship Lady Sherbroke, The: see The Wreck of the Lady Shearbrooke (File: HHH570)
===
NAME: Ship Lord Wolseley, The
DESCRIPTION: The ship leaves Belfast for Philadelphia on the 18th of January under Cap'n James Dunn. Song describes several ports and storms and constantly makes references to the bravery and steadfastness of the crew and officers.
AUTHOR: Wm. R.B. Dawson
EARLIEST_DATE: 1945 (Harlow)
KEYWORDS: ship foc's'le sailor
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Harlow, pp. 181-183, "The Ship Lord Wolseley" (1 text, sung to "Yankee Man-of-War")
Roud #9149
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Yankee Man-of-War" [probably the song indexed as "The British Man-of-War"] (tune)
NOTES: Harlow says that the author Dawson was bo'sun on the _Lord Wolseley_ when he wrote this.
_Lord Wolseley_ was a four masted ship built in 1883 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast. She was sold and renamed several times, as _Columbia_, _Everett G. Griggs_, _Wolseley_ (again) before being broken up and used for parts in 1928. - SL
I have to admit I find the name of the ship pretty ironic. Garnet Wolseley (1833-1913) was not a navy man but a soldier all his life, fighting in the Crimean War and thirty years of colonial wars before becoming army Commander in Chief in 1895. He was made a viscount in 1883 after winning the battle of Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt (1882). His most famous moment, perhaps, came two years later, when he tried and failed to rescue Gordon from Khartoum -- a rescue that might have succeeded had he understood river transport better. - RBW
File: Harl181
===
NAME: Ship of Zion (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "What is this ship you're going on board, oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the Old Ship Zion, hallelujah (x4) What colors does she hoist in time of war? oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the bloody robe of Jesus, hallelujah (x4)"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(MA,SE)
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 102-103, "The Old Ship of Zion" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownIII 623, "The Old Ship of Zion" (3 texts, of which "A" is clearly "The Old Ship of Zion (I)" but B is an unidentifiable fragment; C, with references to India and the Ganges, may be a separate piece)
FSCatskills 83, "The Ship of Zion" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 366, "Old Ship of Zion" (1 text)
ST FSC083 (Partial)
Roud #4204
RECORDINGS:
McFadden Gospel Singers, "Old Ship of Zion" (Coleman 5976, n.d.)
NOTES: In the Sacred Harp, the tune to this is said tentatively to be by Thomas W. Carter.
White reports a whole class of "Ship of Zion" songs, not all of which can easily be distinguished. I've split off some with clear personalities, but some just have to be lumped here. - RBW
File: FSC083
===
NAME: Ship Rambolee, The: see The Loss of the Ramillies [Laws K1]
(File: LK01)
===
NAME: Ship That Is Passing By, The
DESCRIPTION: "I once had a father but now I have none, He's gone to that beautiful home. O Lord, let me sail on that beautiful ship, The ship that is passing by. The days seem so sad and the night seems so long And I am so lonely here." Similarly mother, brother, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1967
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad family
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Combs/Wilgus 316, p. 191, "The Ship That Is Passing By" (1 text)
Roud #4303
File: CW191
===
NAME: Ship That Never Came, The: see The Gentle Boy (Why Don't Father's Ship Come In) (File: GrMa113)
===
NAME: Ship That Never Returned, The [Laws D27]
DESCRIPTION: A ship is preparing to sail. The lives of several of the passengers, their reasons for leaving, and their farewells to family and/or sweethearts are briefly described. But the ship disappears at sea, apparently with all hands
AUTHOR: Henry Clay Work
EARLIEST_DATE: 1865 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: sea farewell wreck disaster
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (12 citations)
Laws D27,"The Ship that Never Returned"
Randolph 690, "The Ship that Never Returned" (2 texts)
BrownII 25, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text plus mention of 10 more as well as a pair of offshoots)
Sandburg, pp. 146-147, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, pp. 92-93, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-WeepMore, p. 138, "The Ship that Never Returned" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert, pp. 142-143, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 186-187, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 268, "The Ship That Never Returned" (1 text)
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 197-226, "The Wreck of the Old 97" (6 texts plus excerpts, 1 tune, plus a sheet music cover and sundry excerpts from related songs including a text of "The Ship That Never Returned)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 482, "The Ship That Never Returned" (source notes only)
DT 618, NVRETURN* NVRETUR2*
Roud #775
RECORDINGS:
Omar Blondahl, "The Ship That Never Returned" (on NFOBlondahl03)
Vernon Dalhart, "The Ship That Never Returned" (Gennett 3311, 1926)
Bradley Kincaid, "The Ship That Never Returned" (Bluebird 5569, 1934)
Asa Martin, "The Ship That Never Returned" (Oriole 8163/Conqueror 8068 [as Martin & Roberts], 1932)
Roe Bros. & Morrell, "The Ship That Never Returned" (Columbia 15156-D, 1927)
Charles Lewis Stine, "The Ship That Never Returned" (Columbia 15027-D, 1925)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 1518, "The Ship That Never Returned," T. Brooks (Bristol), n.d.
LOCSheet, sm1885 21919, "The Ship That Never Returned," S. Brainard's. Sons (Cleveland), 1885 (tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Train that Never Returned" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Wreck of Old 97" (tune & meter)
cf. "The Rarden Wreck of 1893" (tune & metre)
cf. "The Flying Colonel" (tune)
cf. "M.T.A." (tune)
cf. "Lovers Parted" (tune, lyrics)
SAME_TUNE:
The Train That Never Returned (File: R694)
The Wreck of Old 97 [Laws G2] (File: LG02)
The Rarden Wreck of 1893 (File: DarNS215)
The Flying Colonel (File: EM404)
Lovers Parted (File: BrII215A)
Vernon Dalhart, "The Airship That Never Returned" (Columbia 15162-D, 1927)
Ernest Stoneman, "The Face That Never Returned" (OKeh, unissued, 1924) (OKeh 40288, 1925) [probably this tune, though we haven't been able to check]
NOTES: This may be the best-selling tune of all time in terms of fraction of the population which experienced it; "The Ship that Never Returned" was a hit in sheet music, and "The Wreck of Old 97" and "M.T.A." (which also uses the tune) were hits on record. Sadly, Work made only a little money off the piece. - RBW
Blondahl03 has no liner notes confirming that this song was collected in Newfoundland. Barring another report for Newfoundland I do not assume it has been found there. There is no entry for "The Ship That Never Returned" in _Newfoundland Songs and Ballads in Print 1842-1974 A Title and First-Line Index_ by Paul Mercer. - BS
File: LD27
===
NAME: Ship to Old England Came, A
DESCRIPTION: With 50 guns and 500 men an English warship meets five French men-of-war. Aloft, the cabin boy sees three English ships -- Oak, Sloe, and Unity -- that join the battle and "quickly made those French dogs flee"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1974 (recording, Walter Pardon)
KEYWORDS: battle navy England France
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES: ()
Roud #1424
RECORDINGS:
Walter Pardon, "A Ship to Old England Came" (on Voice02)
File: RcasTOEC
===
NAME: Ship's Carpenter, The: see The Daemon Lover (The House Carpenter) [Child 243] (File: C243)
===
NAME: Ship's in the Harbor, The: see Teasing Songs (File: EM256)
===
NAME: Shipwreck on the Lagan Canal, The
DESCRIPTION: Captain McFall's ship sails "up the Lagan Canal," "bound for foreign countries," "with a cargo of Indian meal." In "a dreadful gale" they strike "a coral reef" and sink "to the shin." A coastguard rescues the crew "as none of us could swim"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1890-1918 (J Nicholson ballad sheet, according to Leyden)
KEYWORDS: canal humorous storm wreck
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leyden 38, "The Shipwreck on the Lagan Canal" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The E-ri-e" (theme) and references there
File: Leyd038
===
NAME: Shipwreck, The: see The Streams of Lovely Nancy (File: VWL098)
===
NAME: Shirt and the Apron, The [Laws K42]
DESCRIPTION: The sailor comes to shore and meets a girl who takes him to a dance, then to supper, then to bed. He awakens in the morning to find both his money and his clothes gone. He is forced to return to his ship in women's clothing -- to the amusement of the crew
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: c.1890-1918 (J Nicholson ballad sheet, according to Leyden); 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: sex robbery dancing clothes whore
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Laws K42, "The Shirt and the Apron"
Leyden 31, "The Sailor's Hornpipe in Caxon Street" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 112, "The Shirt and the Apron" (1 text)
Creighton-NovaScotia 105, "Barrack Street" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 376-377, "Jack-All-Alone" (1 text) [AbEd, pp. 283-285 as "The New York Gals"]
JHJohnson, pp. 70-71, "The Shirt and the Apron" (1 text)
DT 418, PETERST
Roud #1902
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Gold Watch" [Laws K41] (plot) and references there
cf. "The Beggar Wench"
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Jack-All-Alone
Peter Street
The Shift and the Apron
Patrick Street
File: LK42
===
NAME: Shirt I Left Behind, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer quits Dan McCann's lodgings but leaves his shirt. McCann's daughter tells him to retrieve it. That night, drunk, he sees the shirt coming down the street, hit it with a brick, and kills McCann's daughter who was in it. He is fined ten quid.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: murder clothes drink humorous derivative
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
McBride 64, "The Shirt I Left Behind" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Girl I Left Behind Me (II - lyric)" (tune) and references there
NOTES: Maybe it needs to be sung to be "humorous." [Alternately, maybe one needed to know McCann and/or his daughter? Perhaps there is a reason the song is not widely known.... - RBW] The parody is only in the tune and "the shirt I left behind me" end of each verse. - BS
File: McB1064
===
NAME: Shirt of Lace, The: see The Elfin Knight [Child 2] (File: C002)
===
NAME: Shirt, The: see Kate's Big Shirt (File: Pea069)
===
NAME: Shivering in the Cold
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls his parents, his wife, his children, his money -- all lost because of drink. He yearns to be free of his burden. Chorus: "Yes alone, all alone, And I feel I'm growing old, Yet I wander, oh how lonely, And I'm shivering in the cold."
AUTHOR: Mrs. Knowles Shaw
EARLIEST_DATE: 1887 (Harvest Bells Songbook)
KEYWORDS: drink poverty captivity
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Randolph 327, "Shivering in the Cold" (2 texts)
BrownIII 31, "I'm Alone, All Alone" (1 text plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more)
Roud #7801
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I'm Alone, All Alone (I)" (theme)
File: R327
===
NAME: Shock Along, John
DESCRIPTION: Described as "A corn-song, of which only the burden is remembered": "Shock along, John, shock along; Shock along, John, shock along."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison, "Slave Songs of the United States")
KEYWORDS: work
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 67, "Shock ALong, John" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-AmFolklr, p. 906, "Shock Along, John" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12024
NOTES: I wonder if this might not have started out as a "Walk Along, John" song. But with only five words, who can tell? - RBW
File: BAF906
===
NAME: Shoemaker (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "Make my Kate a pair of shoes, Make 'em out of the best of leather, I'll peg 'em well and stitch 'em tight (or: "Draw 'em around the firey side") And then they'll last forever." The singer seeks, by the making of shoes, to bind Kate to him (?)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1917 (Cox)
KEYWORDS: work courting clothes
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So) Ireland
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 566, "The Shoemaker" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
JHCox 171, "The Cobbler's Boy" (1 text)
SHenry H551, p. 40, "The Cobbler" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 100, "The Shoemaker" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
DT, COBBLR*
Roud #837
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Shoemaker's Kiss"
NOTES: This may be a byblow of "The Shoemaker's Kiss"; there are common elements. But if so, the degree of sanitizing is so extreme that they can be counted as separate songs. - RBW
The entry in SharpAp is fragmentary and almost devoid of plot, but it mentions Kate, so I put it here. - PJS
File: R566
===
NAME: Shoemaker (II) The: see The Shoemaker's Kiss (File: KinBB15)
===
NAME: Shoemaker (III), The
DESCRIPTION: "My mother sent me to the school To learn to be a stocking-knitter, But I went wrang and played the fool And married with a shoemaker." She complains of his looks, his tools, his stink, and the miserable life she leads: "Who would have a shoemaker?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: work marriage warning
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 114-115, "The Shoemakker" (1 text, 1 tune)
GreigDuncan3 479, "The Shoemaker" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
ST StoR114 (Partial)
Roud #3152
NOTES: In a number of versions of this song, including Stokoe's, the man's occupation is "shoemakker" (double k). This appears to be an attempt to show that the "a" is pronounced short -- he "maks" shoes, rather than "makes" them. - RBW
File: StoR114
===
NAME: Shoemaker at His Last, The: see Sair Fyel'd, Hinny (File: StoR048)
===
NAME: Shoemaker's Kiss, The
DESCRIPTION: The girl comes to the shoemaker and requests a pair of shoes. He thereupon "fits" the girl. (Forty) weeks later she brings forth a son. When mother asks where the boy came from, she says "the shoemaker's kiss."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: sex clothes pregnancy childbirth children
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland,England(South))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Kinloch-BBook XV, pp. 55-57, "The Shoemaker" (1 text)
DT, SHOEKISS*
Roud #3807
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Trooper Watering His Nag" (chorus lyrics)
cf. "The Shoemaker (I)"
NOTES: The "other" shoemaker song ("The Shoemaker (I)") has some elements in common with this song, and may be distantly related. But if so, there has been an extreme degree of sanitation in between.
Roud lumps this with "A Kiss in the Morning Early," which is also about relations between a girl and a shoemaker -- but the latter does not involve pregnancy. - RBW
File: KinBB15
===
NAME: Shoemaker's Son, The
DESCRIPTION: "Young Jimmy was a shoemaker's son, And through this country his bread he won. Her father was of high degree, He was captain over some ships on the sea."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: love courting father
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 193, "The Shoemaker's Son" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: This is clearly a fragment of a longer ballad (probably telling of the father's opposition to the young people's marriage), but without a longer version, we can't tell much about it. - RBW
File: MA193
===
NAME: Shoo Fly
DESCRIPTION: "I think I hear the angels sing (x3), The angels now are on the wing. I feel, I feel, I feel like a morning star (x2)." "Shoo fly, don't bother me (x3), For I just been on a merry spree." (or "belong to Company G," or the like).
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense playparty religious
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Randolph 273, "Shoo Fly" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 190-193, "Shew! Fly, Don't Bother Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 55-56, "Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me" (1 fragmentary text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 200, (no title) (1 fragment, the "Company G" version)
Silber-FSWB, p. 388, "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" (1 text)
ST R273 (Full)
Roud #3433
RECORDINGS:
Uncle Dave Macon, "Sho' Fly Don't Bother Me" (Vocalion 5010, 1926)
Pete Seeger, "Shoo Fly" (on PeteSeeger33, PeteSeegerCD03)
Jimmy Yates' Boll Weevils, "Shoo Fly!" (Victor 21753, 1928)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Blue-Tail Fly" [Laws I19] (chorus lyrics)
NOTES: Variously attributed. The 1869 sheet credits the words to Billy Reeves and the music to Frank Campbell. Another 1869 publication gives the author as Thomas Brigham Bishop. The latter, published by Bishop himself, claims that the piece comes from "the negro farce the 'Cook.'" The corroborative evidence for the claims is thin. - RBW
File: R273
===
NAME: Shoo, Fly, Don't Bother Me: see Shoo Fly (File: R273)
===
NAME: Shoo, Shoo, Shoo-lye: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107)
===
NAME: Shoofly, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer sees an old woman lamenting, "Ochone! sure I'm nearly distracted! For it's down by the Shoofly they cut a bad vein...." With all the local mines closed, she and her family are in debt and out of work. She can only hope conditions improve
AUTHOR: Felix O'Hare
EARLIEST_DATE: 1949
KEYWORDS: hardtimes mining
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1871 - Closing of the mine at Valley Furnace (in the Schuylkill Valley). The Shoofly colliery closed at about the same time.
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Scott-BoA, pp. 276-278, "The Shoofly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7720
File: SBoA276
===
NAME: Shoot the Buffalo
DESCRIPTION: Playparty/dance tune: "And it's ladies to the center and it's gents around the row, And we'll rally round the canebrake and shoot the buffalo." Tales of courting and spitting tobacco
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1911 (JAFL 24)
KEYWORDS: playparty dancing animal nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,So)
REFERENCES: (10 citations)
Randolph 523, "Shoot the Buffalo" (2 texts plus 4 excerpts, 1 tune)
Hudson 149, pp. 297-298, "Shoot the Buffalo" (1 text)
Fuson, p. 165, "Chase the Buffalo" (1 text)
Cambiaire, p. 143, "Hunting Ballad (We'll Shoot the Buffalo)" (1 text)
SharpAp 262, "Chase the Buffalo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 32, "Shoot the Buffalo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 296-297, "Shoot the Buffalo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 98, "Shoot the Buffalo" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 96, "Shoot the Buffalo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-MRFolklr, p. 563, "We'll Hunt the Buffalo!" (1 text, 1 tune, with the chorus of "Shoot the Buffalo" and lyrics from "The Lovely Ohio")
Roud #3644
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Hunt the Buffalo
File: R523
===
NAME: Shoot the Buffalo (II), The: see Lovely Ohio, The (File: LoF039)
===
NAME: Shoot Your Dice and Have Your Fun
DESCRIPTION: "Shoot your dice and have your fun, I'll have mine when the police come. Police come, I didn't want to go; I knocked him in the head wid a forty-fo'."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: gambling police
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 51, "Shoot Your Dice and Have Your Fun" (1 short text)
Roud #7853
File: Br3051
===
NAME: Shootin' Creek: see Cripple Creek (I) (File: San320)
===
NAME: Shooting Goschen's Cocks Up: see Row-Dow-Dow (File: K354)
===
NAME: Shooting of Bailey the Alleged Informer, The
DESCRIPTION: Bailey informs in December about concealed arms. Those he informed on are now in jail. "On Saturday night he met his fate All by a pistol volley, By some one unknown, who did him hate, Down in Skipper's Alley." "Mind what you say." Don't be an informer.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1882 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: warning betrayal murder prison revenge
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Feb 25, 1882 - Bernard Bailey shot dead in Dublin (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Zimmermann 82, "A New Song on the Shooting of Bailey the Alleged Informer" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(148), "A New Song on the Shooting of Bailey the 'Alleged informer'," unknown, n.d.
NOTES: Zimmermann: No arrest was made. The Irish Republican Brotherhood is assumed behind the killing. - BS
One of the reasons for British success in Ireland was that the Irish never had any weapons. In the 1798, the British often found one or two pieces of artillery sufficient to disperse a force of rebels, who would have only a few muskets and little ammunition for what they had. As late as 1916 and the Casemate Affair, Irish nationalists were still trying to smuggle in guns. Naturally they were not too happy with people who cost them any part of their small collections. - RBW
File: Zimm082
===
NAME: Shooting of His Dear: see Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)
===
NAME: Shooting of the Bawks, The
DESCRIPTION: The narrator protests a law against killing bawks during the summer when they are most plentiful. He wonders how he is going to feed his family and sarcastically conjectures that the authorities will now provide the people with meat.
AUTHOR: A.R. Scammell
EARLIEST_DATE: 1940 (Doyle)
KEYWORDS: recitation law bird hunting
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Doyle2, p. 79, "The Shooting of the Bawks" (1 text)
Roud #7309
NOTES: The author, Arthur Reginald Scammell, has written many poems, songs and even stories with Newfoundland themes. One of his more famous songs is "The Squid-Jiggin' Ground." Some collections of his works include: _My Newfoundland: Stories, Poems, Songs_ (St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications, 1988) and _Newfoundland Echoes_ (St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications, 1988). _Collected Works of A. R. Scammell_ was also published by Harry Cuff in 1990.
Although I haven't been able to find the exact equivalent for the "bawk" it can be gathered from the song that it is a seabird present only in summer. Other birds mentioned are the "tur" which is related to the auk, "noddy" which is a kind of tern or small gull and tickleace which is another kind of gull. The poem gives instructions to sing it to the tune of "The Wearin' o' the Green." - SH
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary lists "bawk" as a Newfoundlander term, of unknown origin, for the Greater Shearwater. The Greater Shearwater is a fairly large bird which often occurs in flocks and frequently follows ships; they are therefore tempting targets. They breed in November-January in the Tristan da Cunha islands (far down in the south Atlantic, at about the latitude of Buenos Aires but roughly half way between Africa and South America), then spend the North American summer months off the American east coast. - PJS, RBW
I do not know the reason for the Canadian ban on shooting bawks, but as their breeding grounds are small and under threat by man, and their summer feeding grounds are being heavily fished, I suspect it is to protect the species. - RBW
File: Doy079
===
NAME: Shooting Star, The
DESCRIPTION: A Halifax policeman is murdered on board of the Shooting Star. He has a summons for the captain but sailor Burdell stabs him. The captain and ship get away but "they caught Burdel at Boston and gave him fourteen years"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: murder prison ship police sailor
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 74-75, "The Shooting Star" (1 text)
Roud #1973
NOTES: "The affair of the 'Shooting Star' took place in Halifax, November 1861. Policeman's name was Gardner ... stabbed by Edgar Burdell.... vessel ... ran ashore below George's Island & Burdell was arrested." (Source: Smith/Hatt) - BS
File: SmHa074
===
NAME: Shore Around the Grog: see Shove Around the Grog (File: FSC175)
===
NAME: Shores of Botany Bay, The
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, I'm on my way down to the quay, Where a big ship now does lay...." When the singer's boss tells him he will have to work harder to keep his job, Pat gives it up and heads for Australia. He rejoices to get away from brickwork.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: work Australia emigration
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 271-272, "The Shores of Botany Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA271
===
NAME: Shores of Coolough Bay, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer "was one of the Urhan football team." "Now we are scattered far and wide from the shores of Coolough Bay". He has worked at many jobs in Ireland, Canada and, now, in the US. Best of all is the Shores of Coolough Bay. He is saving to return.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1978 (OCanainn)
KEYWORDS: home return travel sports America Canada Ireland emigration
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
OCanainn, pp. 100-101, "The Shores of Coolough Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST OCan100 (Partial)
NOTES: OCanainn: "This is a song about the Urban football teams of 1927, 28 and 29, who won the Cork County Intermediate Championships. Joe Murphy sang the song and thought it had been composed in New York by Maurice Power. Coolough Bay is an inlet off Kenmare Bay."
The singer lists some of his many activities since ending his football days: fishing with a seine-boat crew and enjoying dances at Coolough Bay; then mining, cowboying and working in a lumber shop. - BS
File: OCan100
===
NAME: Shores of Michigan, The: see The Loss of the Antelope (File: RcLoOTAn)
===
NAME: Shores of Sweet Kenbane, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer rambles out and sits down to look at Kenbane. He will set his slight skills to the task of praising it. He describes the birds, fish, shores, castle, etc. In one cottage dwells a beautiful girl; he blesses the day he found her and Kenbane
AUTHOR: Dan White?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love home rambling
FOUND_IN: Ireland
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SHenry H648, p. 167, "The Shores of Sweet Kenbane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13479
File: HHH648
===
NAME: Short Jacket: see The Maid in Sorrow (Short Jacket) [Laws N12] (File: LN12)
===
NAME: Short Jacket and White Trousers: see The Maid in Sorrow (Short Jacket) [Laws N12] (File: LN12)
===
NAME: Short Life of Trouble
DESCRIPTION: "Short life of trouble, A few more words apart, A short life of trouble, dear girl, For a boy with a broken heart." The singer reminds the girl that she promised to marry him. He takes the train out of town and/or hopes the grave will be his home
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (recording, Burnett & Rutherford)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal death
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fuson, p. 127, "Pass the Drunkard By" (1 text, with a first verse in which the girl describes Mama's advice against drunkards but otherwise like the usual versions)
ST RcSLOT (Full)
Roud #3418
RECORDINGS:
Emry Arthur, "Short Life of Trouble" (Paramount 3290, 1931)
[Clarence] Ashley & [Gwen] Foster, "Short Life of Trouble" (Perfect 12800/Conqueror 8149, 1932)
Blue Sky Boys, "Short Life of Trouble" (Bluebird B-8829, 1941)
Burnett & Rutherford, "A Short Life of Trouble" (Columbia 15133-D, 1927; rec. 1926; on BurnRuth01)
[G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Short Life of Trouble" (Victor V-40105, 1928; on GraysonWhitter01, LostProv1)
Buell Kazee, "Short Life of Trouble" (Brunswick 214, 1928; on KMM)
J. E. Mainer's Mountaineers (or Wade Mainer), "Short Life and It's Trouble" (Bluebird B-6936, 1937)
Riley Puckett, "Short Life of Trouble" (Decca 5442, 1937)
Doc Watson & Arnold Watson, "A Short Life of Trouble" (on WatsonAshley01)
File: RcSLOT
===
NAME: Short'nin' Bread: see Shortenin' Bread (File: R255)
===
NAME: Shortenin' Bread
DESCRIPTION: The mother will make shortening bread. Its benefits, and the extent to which children like it, may be described. (The singer steals the skillet and the bread, and winds up in jail and faced with a fine.) Often in dialect, with assorted floating verses
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (JAFL 28)
KEYWORDS: food prison robbery
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Randolph 255, "Shortenin' Bread" (2 texts, 1 tune)
BrownIII 461, "Short'nin' Bread" (2 texts plus 7 fragments and 1 excerpt; some of the fragments, especially "I," may be associated with some other song)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 149-153, "Short'nin Bread," "Short'nin' Bread," (no title), "Put on the Skillet" (4 texts plus some odds and ends, 3 tunes; it's possible that some of the fragments are something else)
Lomax-FSNA 267, "Shortenin' Bread" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 234-236, "Shortenin' Bread" (1 text, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, p. 160, "(Shortnin' Bread)" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 497-498+, "Short'nin' Bread"
Roud #4209
RECORDINGS:
Cherokee Ramblers, "Shortenin' Bread" (Decca 5162, 1935)
Emma Jane Davis, "Shortenin' Bread" (AFS 6644 A1, 1942)
Dykes Magic City Trio, "Shortening Bread" (Brunswick 125, 1927)
Ora Dell Graham, "Shortenin' Bread" (AFS, 1940; on LCTreas)
Earl Johnson & his Dixie Entertainers, "Shortenin' Bread" (OKeh 45112, 1927)
Bobby Leecan's Need-More Band, "Shortnin' Bread" (Victor 20853, 1927)
Reaves White County Ramblers, "Shortening Bread" (Vocalion 5218, 1928; on TimesAint05)
Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers, "Shortening Bread" (Columbia 15123-D, 1927; rec. 1926)
Conrad Thibaud, "Shortnin' Bread" (Victor 24404, 1933)
Sonny Terry [pseud., Saunders Terrell], "Shortnin' Bread" (on Terry 01)
Tweedy Brothers, "Shortenin' Bread" (Supertone 9174, 1928)
Henry Whitter, "Hop Light Ladies and Shortenin' Bread" (OKeh 40064, 1924)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Run, Nigger, Run" (tune)
NOTES: Fuld reports that this tune appeared in 1915 (E. C. Perrow in the April-June 1915 JAF) under the title "Shortened Bread." Words and music first appear together in Scarborough, 1925, but are probably older. - RBW
File: R255
===
NAME: Shorty George
DESCRIPTION: "Shorty George, he ain't no friend of mine... Taken all de women an' leave de men behind." (The singer goes bad as an orphan child. He finds a girl, but they go separate ways.) He learns his girl/mother is sick and arrives for her sad funeral
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1933 (recording, James "Iron Head" Baker)
KEYWORDS: orphan love death burial mother prison prisoner train
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 118-123, "Shorty George" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Lomax-FSUSA 23, "Shorty George" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 199-201, "Shorty George" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 79, "Shorty George" (1 text)
DT, SHORTGEO SHORTGE2*
Roud #10055
RECORDINGS:
James "Iron Head" Baker, "Shorty George" (AFS 210B, 1933) (AFS 202 A2, 1934; on LC53)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "He Was a Friend of Mine"
NOTES: "Shorty George" is reported to be the name of the train that carried convicts' wives and sweethearts to and from the penitentiary for conjugal visits. - PJS, (RBW)
This legend, derives from the Lomax collections of this song. It is interesting to note that Jackson's informants knew of the train they called "Shorty George," but it did not come to the prison; it was merely a very small train (typically three cars) which passed precisely at 3:35. - RBW
File: LxU023
===
NAME: Shot My Pistol in de Heart of Town
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Lawd, Shot my pistol In de heart of town. Lawd, de big chief hollered, 'Doncha blow me down.'" The singer (?) looks for his girls who "lef' here runnin'." He describes his love of cards. The story is not coherent
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Odum & Johnson)
KEYWORDS: cards separation
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 52-53, "Shot My Pistol in de Heart of Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15570
File: LxA052
===
NAME: Should A Been on the River in 1910
DESCRIPTION: (After an opening from "Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos" or "Go Down, Old Hannah," about driving women like men), the singer recalls a partner doing 99 years, recalls that his girl promised to visit but did not, and promises to "be around some day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1965 (recorded from Arthur "Lightning" Sherrod by Jackson)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 77-75, "Should A Been on the River in 1910" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: JDM073
===
NAME: Shout Along and Pray Along
DESCRIPTION: "Shout along and pray along, ye Heaven-bound soldiers! Shout along and pray along, I'm on my way! Pray on, (sisters/fathers/mothers/children", and don't get weary; Never get tired of serving the Lord. Shout along and pray along...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 633, "Shout Along and Pray Along" (1 text)
Roud #11932
File: Br3633
===
NAME: Shout Lula
DESCRIPTION: Dance tune "Shout Lulu, shout shout/What in the world you shoutin' about?" "How many nickels does it take/To see little Lulu's body shake?/It takes a nickel and it takes a dime/To see little Lulu cut her shine"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1924 (recording, Samantha Bumgarner & Eva Davis)
KEYWORDS: sex money dancing bawdy dancetune nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
SharpAp 201, "Lulie" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #4202
RECORDINGS:
Clarence Ashley & Tex Isley, "Shout Little Lulu" (on Ashley01)
Clarence Ashley & Jack Burchett, "Shout Lulu" (on WatsonAshley01)
Homer Brierhopper, "Little Lulie" (Decca 5615, c. 1938)
W. Guy Bruce, "Shout Lulu" (on FolkVisions1)
Samantha Bumgarner & Eva Davis, "Shout Lou" (Columbia 146-D, 1924)
Elizabeth Cotten, "Oh Miss Lulie Gal" (on Cotten02)
Rufus Crisp, "Shout, Little Lulie" (on Crisp01)
Carver Boys, "Sleeping Lula" (Paramount 3199, 1930)
[G. B.] Grayson & [Henry] Whitter, "Shout Lula" (Gennett 6373/Champion 15501 [as by Norman Gayle], 1928)
Dick Justice, "Little Lulie" (Brunswick 336, 1929)
File: RcShLulu
===
NAME: Shout On, Children
DESCRIPTION: "Shout on, children, you never die; Glory hallelujah! You in the Lord and the Lord in you; Glory hallelujah." "Shout and pray both night and day, How can you die, you in the Lord?" "Come on, children, let's go home; Oh I'm so glad you're in the Lord."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 60, "Shout On, Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12020
File: AWG060A
===
NAME: Shout, Shout, We're Gaining Ground
DESCRIPTION: "Shout, shout, we're gaining ground, Oh glory hallelujah, For the gospel ship is sailing by, Oh glory hallelujah!" "Shout, shout... For the grace of God is coming down" "It has come down and it will come down" "The Devil's mad and I am glad"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 633, "Shout, Shout, We're Gaining Ground" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #7561
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gospel Ship (I)" (lyics)
File: R633
===
NAME: Shove Around the Grog
DESCRIPTION: Brief stories of bringing lumber downriver. Chorus: "Shove [or "Shore"] around the grog, boys, Chorus around the room; We are the boys that fear no noise, Although we're far from home."
AUTHOR: Boney Quillan ?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: logger river
FOUND_IN: US(MA,NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
FSCatskills 175, "Shore Around the Grog" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST FSC175 (Partial)
File: FSC175
===
NAME: Shovellin' Iron Ore: see The Great American Bum (Three Jolly Bums) (File: FaE192)
===
NAME: Shoving Corduroy
DESCRIPTION: The singer, a "swamper," is building corduroy roads. He describes his work, the pay, and an incident where a workmate falls into a boghole. Finally, he expresses a desire for a pretty woman, and says he'll do anything to please her -- even shove corduroy.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: lumbering work courting
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Beck 25, "Shoving Corduroy" (1 text)
Roud #8859
NOTES: A corduroy road was built by laying logs parallel to one another to make a roadway across a swamp. [There is some dispute about whether the roads or the fabric were named first, although the fabric is more likely. - RBW]
According to Beck, the swamper usually "cleared the underbrush and other obstructions for the teamster, or so that logs could be skidded to their destination." - PJS
File: Be025
===
NAME: Show Me the Man Who Never Done Wrong: see Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own) (File: R393)
===
NAME: Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe
DESCRIPTION: A lament on the effects of drinking and or rambling, perhaps with a request for forgiveness and/or floating blues lyrics. The whole is held together (if it is) by the chorus "Show me way to go home." The singer may have been drunk for many months
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1913 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: drink home floatingverses
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 37, "Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe" (7 short texts plus a single line fragment)
Roud #7859
RECORDINGS:
Gid Tanner & his Skillet Lickers, "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (Columbia 15404-D, 1929)
Henry Whitter & Fiddler Joe [Samuels], "Show Me the Way to Go Home" (OKeh 45061, 1926)
File: Br3037
===
NAME: Show Pity, Lord (Supplication)
DESCRIPTION: "Show pity, Lord! Oh Lord, forgive! Let a repentant sinner live!" The singer abjectly confesses fault: "My crimes are great but can't surpass The power and glory of thy grace." The singer confidently expects salvation
AUTHOR: Words: Watts ? (to the tune "Windham?")
EARLIEST_DATE: 1860 (Harmona Sacra)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 631, "Show Pity, Lord" (1 short text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Roud #7559
SAME_TUNE:
Broad is the Road That Leads to Death (Windham) (Darling-NAS, p. 263)
File: R631
===
NAME: Shrew Wife, The: see What Do You Think of My Darling? (File: Dib102)
===
NAME: Shu Lady
DESCRIPTION: Incoherent account, with many floating insertions, of an attack on Chandler's fish-dyke. The people who did the damage are brought to trial and forced to sell their cows to pay the fines. The song objects to the Freemason jury
AUTHOR: Ms. (?) Lawless?
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: fishing trial punishment
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownII 311, "Shu Lady" (1 text)
Roud #6646
File: BrII311
===
NAME: Shuck Corn, Shell Corn
DESCRIPTION: "Shuck corn, shell corn, Carry corn to mill. Grind de meal, gimme de husk, (Bake/break) de bread, gimme de crust, Fry de meat, gimme de skin -- And dat's de way to bring 'em in. Won't you git up, old horse, I'm on de road to Brighton."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1923 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: work food nonballad horse
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
BrownIII 200, "Shuck Corn, Shell Corn" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
File: Br3200
===
NAME: Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier)
DESCRIPTION: The girl laments for her love, sent (to France) as a soldier. She says she will cry till "every tear would turn a mill." She will sell her spinning wheel to arm him. She will dye her clothes red and "round the world... beg for bread" till he returns
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1892
KEYWORDS: loneliness separation foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So) Britain(England,Scotland) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES: (17 citations)
Belden, pp. 281-282, "Shule Aroon" (1 text)
Randolph 107, "Shule, Shule" (3 texts, 1 tune, though "A" is mixed with "Ease that Trouble in the Mind" or "The Swapping Boy" or some such, "B" is a nonsense fragment, and "C" is largely floating material); also probably the "A" fragment of 455, "When I Get on Yonder Hill" (2 texts)
Eddy 40, "Putnam's Hill" (3 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes)
BrownII 127, "Shule Aroon" (1 fragment, so short that it might just be nonsense though it is probably this song)
Hudson 130, pp. 275-276, "Shule Aron" (1 text, short and even more damaged than usual, to which is prefixed the rhyme "Snail, snail, come out of your hole, Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.")
SharpAp 93, "Putman's Hill" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
O'Conor, p. 110, "Shule Aroon" (1 text)
Lehr/Best 96, "Siul a Ghra" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, p. 347, "Shule Agra" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 131, "I Dyed My Petticoat Red" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 32-35, "Siubhal a Gradh (Come, My Love, Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Lomax-FSUSA 35, "Johnny Has Gone far a Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 20, "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 298-299, "Shoo, Shoo, Shoo-lye" (1 text, 1 tune)
BBI, ZN199 "As from Newcastle I did pass" (listed as "Traditional? Ancestor of Scots 'Dicky Macphalion' and Irish 'Shule Aroon'")
Silber-FSWB, p. 280, "Buttermilk Hill" (1 text)
DT, SHULARN1* (SHULARN2*) SHULARN3 SHULARN4
Roud #911
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "Suil a Gra" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Pearl Jacobs Borusky, "I'll Sell My Hat, I'll Sell My Coat" (AFS, 1940; on LC55)
Porter Brigley, "I Died My Petticoat Red" (on MRHCreighton)
Robert Cinnamond, "Shule Agra" (on IRRCinnamond03)
Elizabeth Cronin, "Shule Aroon" (on FSB1)
Chubby Parker, "Bib-A-Lollie-Boo" (Gennett 6077/Silvertone 5012, 1927; Supertone 9188, 1928) (Conqueror 7891, 1931)
Pete Seeger, "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" (on PeteSeeger31)
Art Thieme, "Bibble-a-la-doo" (on Thieme04)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Song of the Pinewoods" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: In its earliest forms this song seems to have been simply a girl's lament for her departed lover. In many American versions (Randolph's 107 A and C, Eddy's D) we find unrelated stanzas about the girl's "very cross" father.
Scott (following Joyce) theorizes that the song arises out of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Irish supported James II, and were defeated at the Boyne. William III, who defeated James, offered forgiveness to the rebels who would swear loyalty to him, but many preferred exile. The only evidence for this theory, at least in English versions, seems to be the lines "But now my love has gone to France, To try his fortune to advance...."
It's hard to tell how much of this song was originally Gaelic. Although there are Gaelic choruses (e.g. from Barry, in JAFL XXII 15; Connie Dover's modern recording is as close to this as makes no difference), I've never heard a truly traditional Gaelic verse, and even the chorus is usually only a mangled imitation of Gaelic. (Of course, it doesn't help that Gaelic spelling is far from standardized.) - RBW
The Thieme recording retains only the tune, chorus and two verses of "Shule Agra"; otherwise, it's humorous floaters. - PJS
For Hudson 130 the inserted rhyme is the first verse of Opie-Oxford2 482, "Snail, snail" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is c.1744). [The stanza is also found in Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #471, p. 210). - RBW]
One of two broadsides for this ballad as "Shule Agra"/"Johnny Is Gone for a Soldier" at Bodleian Library site Ballads Catalogue is printed in New York c.1860, shelfmark Harding B.18(326).
See three "Shule Agra"/"Johnny Is Gone for a Soldier" broadsides [America Singing: digital id sb40500a/as201910/cw103140] at the Library of Congress American Memory site. - BS
File: R107
===
NAME: Shule Aron: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107)
===
NAME: Shule Aroon: see Shule Agra (Shool Aroo[n], Buttermilk Hill, Johnny's Gone for a Soldier) (File: R107)
===
NAME: Shulls Mills
DESCRIPTION: The singer prepares to return to Shulls Mills. He talks of his relations with the girls, carried out largely on the basis of cash up front, because "the girls... think I'm purty damn mean." He concludes, "When I gets my pay, Hain't gonna work a-tall."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: logger whore
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Warner 134, "Shulls Mills" (1 text, 1 tune; the text is composite though all verses come from Frank Proffitt)
ST Wa134 (Partial)
Roud #5735
File: Wa134
===
NAME: Shut Up in the Mines of Coal Creek
DESCRIPTION: (Eleven) miners, trapped in the mines of Coal Creek, resign themselves to death but place their trust in Jesus. Their lamps are flickering, their food is almost gone; they say farewell to their wives and children, saying they will meet them in heaven
AUTHOR: Probably Green Bailey, though Darling lists it as by Norman Gilford
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Green Bailey under the pseudonym Dick Bell)
KEYWORDS: mining death farewell
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 9, 1911 - The Coal Creek explosion
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Darling-NAS, pp. 367-368, "Shut Up in the Mines of Coal Creek" (1 text)
Roud #844
RECORDINGS:
Dick Bell [pseud. for Green Bailey], "Shut Up in the Mines of Coal Creek" (Challenge 425, 1928; on KMM)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Shut Up in the Mines of Coal Creek" (on NLCR15, NLCRCD2)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Cross Mountain Explosion (Coal Creek Disaster)" [Laws G9] (subject)
NOTES: The Coal Creek explosion of 1911 actually involved more than 100 miners; I am not entirely certain that it is the event described here (there was another disaster in 1902). But, of course, this song could be about certain of the trapped miners rather than the whole gang.
Roud seemingly lumps this with Laws G9, but it is patently a different song. - RBW
File: RcSUIMCC
===
NAME: Shutting of the Gates of Derry by the Apprentice Boys of Derry: see Derry Walls Away (File: OrLa006)
===
NAME: Shutting of the Gates of Derry, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls "how, in olden time, ... a band of boys closed the gates and "Antrim's 'Red-shank'd' crew retreats." In beseiged Derry "pestillence held awful sway - Gaunt famine reigned... till brave Downing" saved the city.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1869 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 26(603))
LONG_DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls "how, in olden time, Boys gave fame to Derry" "This famed date in Fifty-eight, Foemen crossed the Ferry, O! And with yells of fiendish hate, Sought to enter Derry, O!" But a band of boys closed the gates and "Antrim's 'Red-shank'd' crew retreats." "James, their craven king" sent instructions to "his Popish Parliament" in Dublin to "raze the walls of Derry" In Derry "pestillence held awful sway - Gaunt famine reigned ... till brave Downing" saved the city. "Brave Thirteen, who closed the Gate In December hoary, O. In the Keep of Eighty-Eight Hallowed with your glory O"
KEYWORDS: battle rescue death starvation Ireland patriotic youth
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Dec 7, 1688 - The "Apprentice Boys" close the Londonderry gates against Lord Antrim's "Redshanks"
Jul 28, 1689 - Browning's ships break the 105 day siege of Derry (source: Cecil Kilpatrick, "The Siege of Derry: A City of Refuge" at the Canada-Ulster Heritage site)
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: ()
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(603), "The Shutting of the Gates of Derry" ("Brothers, up! the pealing chime"), J. Moore (Belfast), 1852-1868
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "No Surrender (I)" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "No Surrender (II)" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "Derry Walls Away" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "Anniversary of the Shutting of the Gates of Derry" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "The Relief of Derry" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "The Maiden City" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "Derry's Walls" (subject: The Siege of Derry)
cf. "The Gates of Londonderry" (subject; The Siege of Derry)
NOTES: Broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(603) is the basis for the description. The erroneous reference to [16]58 in the second verse is corrected to [16]88 in the last. - BS
The Siege of Londonderry was one of those defining moments in Irish history, though it didn't seem like a particularly big deal at the time. It was defining for the way it was remembered.
The context is the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (for which see, e.g., "What's the Rhyme to Porringer?" and "The Vicar of Bray"). The Catholic James II had been driven off the English throne, replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Protestant husband (and first cousin) William III of Orange. But this was just a small part of the war between France and most of the rest of Europe; the French were supporting James.
And James decided to take advantage of his support in Ireland, still mostly Catholic. He would not himself arrive until March 1689, but his followers were active. According to Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry, _A History of Ireland_ (Barnes & Nble, 1988, 1993), pp. 159-160, "Londonderry had shown its Protestant colours as early as September 1688, when the apprentices, the working lads of the city, had closed the gates against the Catholic earl of Antrim and his men; later, when Tyrconnell [James's Lord Deputy of Ireland, for whom see "Lilliburlero"] had most unwisely withdrawn whole regiments from the north, the Protestant gentry ha raised levies in support of William. Tyrconnell had defeated them in a confused engagement known as the 'break of Dromore,' whereupon those who could not get sea passage away from the country had crowded as refugees into the garrison town of Enniskillen, in Fermanagh, and into Londonderry. James, beneath tje city walls, called repeatedly upon the citizens to surrender, promising them a free pardon for their rebellion.
Terry Golway, _For the Cause of Liberty_, (Simon & Schuster, 2000), pp. 30-31: "The city's thirty thouand civiliians were reduced to eating rats, but when the city's commander, Robert Lundy, seemed ready to surrender, the populace turned on him. The cry of the besieged city was 'No Surrender!' It would become a Protestant motto."
Fry/Fry, p. 160: "The besiegers had no chance of taking the city by assault. James'[s] troops were untried and ill-equipped; they had no spades and shovels for mining the city walls, and no guns heavy enough to breach them. They could only wait until the defenders were starved into submission. Refugees had swelled the population to 30,000 and food supplies soon began to run out; people were dying of starvation and the garrison was too weak to fight.... Then, in the middle of June, six weeks after the siege had begun, an English fleet arrived in Lough Foyle to relieve the city."
The lough, however, had been blocked by James's troops, so it was six weeks before the ships were able to reach the city. Once they did, though, that was the end of the fifteen-week siege (see Martin Wallace, _A Short History of Ireland_, Barnes & Noble, 1973, 1986, p. 56); with food now available, the Catholic army saw no point in continuing the siege. While this was going on, the rest of Ireland started to split into Catholic and Protestant segments, and finally William III showed up, and both sides headed for the Boyne, the subject of so many Irish songs.
According to Jonathan Bardon, _A History of Ulster_, Blackstaff Press, 1992, pp. 157-158, "Derry was the last walled city to be built in western europe. The siege of 105 days was the last great siege in British history, and the most renowned. 'Oh! to her the loud acclamations o the garrison soldiers round the Walls when the ships came to the Quay,' Ash wrote in his diary.'...The Lord, who has preserved this city from the Enemy, I hope will always keep it to the Protestants.' For the Protestants of Ulster this epic defence gave inspiration for more than three centuries to come."
You can generally tell the perspective of a commentator by whether he refers to the city as Derry (the Catholic title) or Londonderry (Protestant). I've called it Londonderry because, at this particular time, the Protestants were defending it. Though the area is in fact mostly Catholic.
For more background on the siege, see "Derry Walls Away." - RBW
File: BrdSGD
===
NAME: Si Hubbard (Hey Rube)
DESCRIPTION: Two farm boys decide to visit the circus. They raise the money and go in to see the sights. After volunteering to take part in various escapades, they end up being carried off by a balloon. When at last they land, they wind up in jail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: humorous farming technology prison
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Sandburg, pp. 350-352, "Si Hubbard" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST San350 (Full)
NOTES: Another piece which may owe more to Sandburg's imagination than to tradition. Even Sandburg says that it came, indirectly, from a carnival barker. - RBW
File: San350
===
NAME: Si j'avais le Bateau (If I had the Boat)
DESCRIPTION: French. If I had the boat which my father had given me I could cross the water and the sea without boat. If I had children who would not call me mom I would often ask God that they would die suddenly. To the proprietor's honor, let's pop the cork.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage drink humorous nonballad nonsense
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, pp. 96-97, "Si J'Avais le Bateau" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: Pea096
===
NAME: Si J'Etais Petite Alouette Grise (If I Were Small Gray Lark)
DESCRIPTION: French. A young drummer/sailor returns from war. He asks a king's daughter to be his girl. She says he must convince the king he is very rich, which he does. The king agrees. The drummer/sailor thanks the king but leaves: he has prettier girls at home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage greed courting rejection gold father sailor royalty
FOUND_IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Peacock, p. 889, "Si J'Etais Petite Alouette Grise" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Trois Jeunes Tambours (Three Young Drummers)
Une Jeune Tambour (A Young Drummer)
Belle Alouette Grise (Beautiful Grey Lark)
NOTES: This ballad is common on the internet as "Trois Jeunes Tambours" -- for example at the site of "La Caverne de Cat."
The discussion of wealth is about three ships owned by the drummer/sailor:I have three ships on the sea: one has a cargo of gold, one has a cargo of pearls [or jewels], and the third is for my girl friend. The conversation about the ships may be between the drummer/sailor and the king's daughter.
The endings spoken to the king by the protagonist vary between: (1) Your daughter is something special (2) In my country there are prettier girls. - BS
File: Pea889
===
NAME: Sic a Wife as Willie Had (Willie Wastle)
DESCRIPTION: "Willie Wastle dwalt on Tweed." I "wadna gie a button" for his wife. "Tinker Maggie was her mither." One eye, few teeth, limping leg, hump on back and breast. Her actions are as crude as her looks. "Sic a wife as Willie had."
AUTHOR: Robert Burns
EARLIEST_DATE: 1792 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: humorous nonballad wife
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 132, "Sic a Wife As Willie Had" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, WASTLE
Roud #2702
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(4242), "Willie Wastle," W. Dixon (Workington), n.d.
NOTES: Somewhere in the depths of my memory, there is a vague memory of a children's rhyme about Wullie Wastle, King of the Castle. Whether there is a relationship between that and this I do not know. - RBW
File: CrMa132
===
NAME: Sick, Sick: see Captain Car, or, Edom o Gordon [Child 178] (File: C178)
===
NAME: Sidewalks of New York
DESCRIPTION: Known by its chorus: "East side, west side, all around the town, The tots sang Ring-a-Rosie, London Bridge is falling down...." The verses describe courting in New York, and wax nostalgic for the days when the singer was one of those doing the courting
AUTHOR: Words: James W. Blake / Music: Charles B. Lawlor
EARLIEST_DATE: 1894 (copyright)
KEYWORDS: courting game children
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (4 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 48, "Sidewalks of New York" (1 text)
Gilbert, p. 257, "The Sidewalks of New York" (1 text)
Fuld, pp. 499-500, "The Sidewalks of New York"
DT, SIDWLKNY
RECORDINGS:
Abner Burkhardt, "The Sidewalks of New York" (Champion 15279, 1927)
Vernon Dalhart, "The Sidewalks of New York" (Columbia 437-D, 1925; Columbia 15256-D, 1928 [as Al Craver])
George Gaskin, "Sidewalks of New York" (Berliner 0959, 1895)
Andrew Jenkins & Carson Robison, "Sidewalks of New York" (OKeh 45232, 1928)
Billy Jones, "The Sidewalks of New York" (Edison 51340, 1924)
SAME_TUNE:
East Side, West Side (Harvesting Song) (Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 105)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
East Side, West Side
NOTES: For some inexplicable reason, this was Al Smith's 1928 presidential campaign song. - RBW
Well, Smith *was* the governor of New York. Of course, rubbing that in didn't endear him to the rest of the country, and anti-Catholic bigotry helped do him in. - PJS
Incidentally, the flip side of the Dalhart recording was "Al Smith for President." I don't know whether that's cause or effect. It's interesting to note that Herbert Hoover doesn't seem to have made any influence on oral tradition, but in addition to the Dalhart recording, Dave Macon sang an Al Smith song. - RBW
File: Gil257
===
NAME: Sidney Allen [Laws E5]
DESCRIPTION: The Allen Family is in court; Sidney and the others break out by shooting the judge and starting a gunfight in the court. Recaptured and brought home, he is sentenced to a long prison term instead of being executed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1936 (Hudson)
KEYWORDS: prison fight trial feud
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1912 - Trial of the Allen family
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (8 citations)
Laws E5, "Sidney Allen"
Hudson 104, pp. 242-243, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 140, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Thomas-Makin', p. 155, (no title) (1 text, 1 tune)
Warner 113, "Hillsville, Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burt, pp. 254-255, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 191-192, "Sidney Allen" (1 text)
DT 777, SIDALLEN
Roud #612
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "Sydney Allen" (Columbia 15042-D, 1925) (Domino 3642, 1925; Banner 1672, 1926)
Henry Whitter, "Sydney Allen" (OKeh 40109, 1924)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Casey Jones (I)" [Laws G1] (meter)
cf. "Claude Allen" [Laws E6] (subject)
NOTES: The members of the Allen family seem to have been the backest of backwoodsmen. Floyd Allen was sentenced to a year in prison by Judge Thornton L. Massie, whereupon the whole family started shooting and made their escape. Later captured, Claud (no e, according to contemporary sources) and Floyd were eventually executed; Sidney ("Sidna") was sentenced to prison. - RBW
File: LE05
===
NAME: Siege of Moscow, The: see Sandy and Nap (File: GrD1149)
===
NAME: Siege of Plattsburg, The
DESCRIPTION: "Back side of Albany stands Lake Champlain." "On Lake Champlain Uncle Sam set his boats, And Captain McDonough to sail 'em." The British come to attack Plattsburg, but scare off the British governor
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1845 (Newspaper, "Brother Johnathan")
KEYWORDS: war battle
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: Aug/Sept 1814 - Plattsburg campaign. As part of a three-pronged attack strategy (the other prongs being at Chesapeake Bay and the lower Mississippi), a British army of 11,000 regulars led by General Sir George Prevost and a naval force under Captain George Downie attack Lake Champlain.
Sept 6, 1814 - The British army reaches Plattsburg and awaits the navy
Sept 11, 1814 - Battle of Plattsburg. An American naval squadron under Captain Thomas Macdonough (1783-1825) defeats the British force in a fierce contest with very high casualties, compelling the British fleet to retreat in disorder. The British army, though under no military compulsion, retreats as well.
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 510-512, "Siege of Plattsburg" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15541
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Banks of Champlain" (subject)
NOTES: In 1814, with Napoleon temporarily under control after the Battle of Leipzig and, later, his abdication, the British decided to finally finish off the War of 1812. They decided on a three-pronged attack -- the northern force starting from the Great Lakes, the center heading for Washington D.C., and the southern attack being made on New Orleans.
Considering that the British would have more force available than every before, and that they had generally had the best of it to that time even with their minimal forces -- pushing back every American attack on Canada and eventually driving most of the small American fleet off the seas -- the results were disastrously bad.
Only the middle assault had any success, when Robert Ross's men burned many of the government buildings in Washington. Their move toward Baltimore, however, was stopped at the siege of Fort McHenry, commemorated in "The Star Spangled Banner."
The Battle of New Orleans (for which see, e.g., "The Hunters of Kentucky" and "The Battle of New Orleans" [Laws A7]) resulted in the death of the slow-moving British commander Pakenham and the defeat of his force. To be sure, that assault followed the attack on Baltimore -- and the peace treaty.
Plattsburg, though, was the real disaster, because the British had every advantage and manged to lose anyway.
General Sir George Prevost, the British commander-in-chief in Canada, had done a good job to this point, but he had never actually commanded in the field; Isaac Brock had won the great victories of 1812 (see ÒThe Battle of Queenston Heights" and "Brave General Brock" [Laws A22]), and Gordon Drummond had been field commander at Lundy's Lane in 1814 (see ÒThe Battle of BridgewaterÓ). With the British finally going on the offensive now that extra troops were available, Prevost himself took charge.
Orders from London told him to advance toward Lake Champlain, which would among other things split Federalist New England (which had opposed the war and was still trying to trade with the British) from the more pro-war West and South (see Walter R. Borneman, _1812: The War that Forged a Nation_, pp. 199-200). He had every advantage, too: The Americans, expecting more action on the Niagara front, had sent roughly half of the forces they had had in the Champlain area to the Niagara (see Donald R. Hickey, _The War of 1812_, p. 190).
Prevost was hardly enthusiastic. Even though he had some 10,000 troops at his disposal, all regulars, meaning that he could sweep aside any force the Americans could put up, he wanted his ships to control the rivers. As a result, he dawdled (Borneman, p. 201). This even though the Americans had sent most of their available forces to Sackets Harbor to defend against a British thrust that never materialize. All the Americans had left in the Champlain region was a few thousand soldiers under Brigadier General Alexander Macomb (whose wife would eventually be credited with writing another song about this battle, ÒThe Banks of ChamplainÓ), plus the naval forces that 31-year-old Master Commander Thomas Macdonough could scrape up. These were inferior to the British forces (the British had captured two of the stronger American ships in 1813, giving them naval superiority; Hickey, p. 190), but Macdonough was to handle them brilliantly, and Prevost would do the rest.
Each fleet had one big vessel at Lake Champlain: The Americans had a 700-tonner named _Saratoga_,, with 26 guns; the British had the strongest ship on the lake in the 1200-ton, 37-gun _Confiance_ -- which was, however, so new that workmen were still aboard her as she headed up Lake Champlain! (Hickey, p. 190). _Confiance_ was supported by the 16-gun _Linnet_ and the 11-gun sloops _Chub_ and _Finch_ (the ships taken from the Americans the year before). _Saratoga's_ consorts were the 20-gun _Eagle_, the 17-gun _Ticonderoga_, the 7-gun _Preble_, and a bunch of one-gun and two-gun small fry (the British had some of those, too; see Borneman, pp. 205-206). The weight of broadide was about even, but the British ships, with more long guns, were much better for an action on open water.
An action on open water was just what they didn't get. When it came time to attack the American position at Plattsburg, Prevost wanted his navy to go first, even though the man who had built the British fleet and who knew the local waters, Lieutenant Daniel Pring, had been replaced at the last minute by Captain George Downie (Borneman, pp. 204-205). Downie would play right into Macdonough's hands.
The American general Macomb had set up his lines on the edge of Plattsburg Bay. This let Macdonough put his forces at the head of the bay, making it difficult for the British to attack at long range; they almost had to turn into the bay, exposed to Macdonough's broadsides -- and, because they had to turn, they would lose most of their wind. Plus MacDonough had a trick: He had _Saratoga_ tied to a series of winches so he could turn her around in place should her starboard side (facing the battle) be too damaged (Borneman, pp. 208-211).
The two lead ships, _Saratoga_ and _Confiance_, were soon locked in battle. _Saratoga_ probably took more damage (the British were firing heated cannonballs, which twice set her afire; Hickey, p. 191), but one of her shots killed Downie, and at the key moment Macdonough spun his ship around. _Confiance_ tried the same trick, couldn't manage it -- and took so much damage in the process that she had to strike her colors. _Saratoga_ was too damaged to fight an open-water action -- the two sides had roughly equal casualties -- but she had won. And, without _Confiance_, the rest of the British fleet was doomed. _Linnet_ struck her colors about fifteen minutes later, and the battle was over (Borneman, p. 212).
Prevost still had at least a two to one edge on land, and it was probably closer to three to one -- but he proceeded to retreat anyway, without even seriously engaging Macomb (Borneman, pp. 213-214; Hickey, p. 193). The British thrust in the North -- the potential war-winner -- was at an end. Indeed, as it turned out, that was the effective end of the war on the Canadian frontier.
The American victories at Plattsburg and Baltimore, especially the former, were largely responsible for the end of the war; the Duke of Wellington told the British government that they needed naval superiority on the Great Lakes, and Plattsburg proved once and for all that they didn't have it. The Americans and British had been negotiating, but the two defeats caused the British to back off their harsher demands.
Ironically, the final Treaty of Ghent didn't even address the issues over which Madison had gone to war (impressment, etc.), though it did eventually result in some boundary clarifications.
Incidently, Paul Stamler tells me that they now spell the name of the town "Plattsburgh." - RBW
File: LxA510
===
NAME: Sierry Petes, The: see Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail [Laws B17] (File: LB17)
===
NAME: Sig-i-nal Hill: see Back Bay Hill (File: FJ165)
===
NAME: Sights and Scenes of Belfast, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer claims to be "a country clown" looking for work. He finds muddy streets, "scavengers" on strike, strange fashions -- "the Grecian Bend" -- hawkers that will "tear you limb from limb," drunkards and shirkers and artful dodgers.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1989 (Leyden)
KEYWORDS: commerce humorous nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Leyden 8, "The Sights and Scenes of Belfast" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Leyden says that this is a "song that takes us on a tour of the city in the 1870s." - BS
File: Leyd008
===
NAME: Sign of the Blue Bell, The: see Next Monday Morning (File: ShH38)
===
NAME: Sign of the Bonnie Blue Bell, The: see Next Monday Morning (File: ShH38)
===
NAME: Sign On Day
DESCRIPTION: "It's sign-on day at the Dance Palais And we're down to a quid or two...." The singer describes the hard work of (sugar) cane cutting. "Our hands are raw, but two bob more Will make them seem like new. If we get enough pay we'll cut all day...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1960
KEYWORDS: work Australia harvest
FOUND_IN: Australia
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 198-199, "Sign On Day" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Cane-cutting was seasonal work, so cutters and farmers gathered for a "sign on day" at some local venue (such as the "Dance Palais" mentioned here). Cane-cutters were paid by how much they cut, so they would often work exhaustingly long hours, then crash once the season was done. - RBW
File: FaE198
===
NAME: Signing the Pledge
DESCRIPTION: "The old folks would be happy If they knew I'd signed the pledge, For my feet have long been straying On the brink of ruin's edge." He hopes, "God helping me," to stay free of drink, to help his parents as they grow old
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1920 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: drink family
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Randolph 328, "Signing the Pledge" (1 text)
Roud #7802
File: R328
===
NAME: Silent Night (Still the Night, Stille Nacht)
DESCRIPTION: German christmas song with multiple English translations, the most famous beginning "Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright." The night of Jesus's birth is praised
AUTHOR: Music: Franz Gruber (1787-1863) / German Words: Joseph Mohr (1792-1848)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1832 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: Christmas religious Jesus nonballad foreignlanguage
FOUND_IN: Germany Britain US
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
Silber-FSWB, p. 384, "Silent Night" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, pp. 500-501, "Silent Night"
DT, SLNTNITE*
ADDITIONAL: Charles Johnson, One Hundred and One Famous Hymns (Hallberg, 1982), pp. 64-65, "Silent Night" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #299, "Stille Nacht" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Soul Stirrers, "Silent Night" (Aladdin 2028, n.d. but post-WWII)
NOTES: Mohr reportedly wrote these words in 1818. The tale of Gruber's music is the stuff of folklore: His church's organ was broken, and could not be repaired until after Christmas. Therefore Gruber needed music for guitar and voice -- the only things he had available. On December 24, he wrote this music for Mohr's words.
It is said that the music was given to the world by the organ repairman, though this may be one cute story too many, as the song was not published until 1832. The truth, according to Johnson, is simply that the song was circulated privately for some years, until someone named Friese heard it, took it down, and had it published. It apparently took some time for Gruber and Mohr to get credit. It is interesting to note that Mohr wrote six verses (which, incidentally, never mention Mary!), but three of these have been completely ignored by later singers.
There are at least three English translations of these words. The first, "Stilly night, holy night," by Emily Elliot, is forgotten. In the U.S., the form "Silent Night, Holy Night" is usual; it is often listed as anonymous though it's sometimes credited to John Freeman Young.
In Britain, we often meet the version "Still the night." This too is often listed as anonymous, though Stopford A. Brooks is said to have published it in 1881.
Neither "translation" actually represents the German words very well.
Spaeth reports that the song was popularized in the United States by the Reiner (Rainer) family, starting around 1841. Ian Bradley's _Penguin Book of Carols_ also attributes its popularity to this group -- but in Austria. - RBW
File: FSWB384B
===
NAME: Silk Merchant's Daughter (I), The [Laws N10]
DESCRIPTION: A girl's parents send her lover away. She dresses in men's clothes and follows him. Their ship sinks. In a lifeboat, she is chosen by lot to be killed for food; he is to kill her. (She reveals herself); they spot (land or a ship) and all are saved
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1907 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: love exile cross-dressing ship wreck disaster cannibalism reprieve rescue sailor
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Canada(Newf,Ont) Britain(Scotland,England) Ireland
REFERENCES: (14 citations)
Laws N10, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter"
GreigDuncan1 177, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Doerflinger, pp. 296-298, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 25, "The Castaways" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 63-64, "The Merchant's Daughter Turned Sailor" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 1, "To Fair London Town" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 43, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 99, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (fragments of a text with narration of the plot as recalled by the informant)
BrownII 107, "The Silk-Merchant's Daughter" (2 texts)
Hudson 35, pp. 148-149, "The Silk-Merchant's Daughter" (1 text)
Brewster 43, "The Silk-Merchant's Daughter" (1 text, which Laws describes as "almost completely rewritten"; the boy goes to sea to avoid the girl)
SharpAp 64, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 64, "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" (1 text)
DT 441, SLKMRCHT
Roud #552
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "To Fair London Town" (on IRTLenihan01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(3744), "The Silk Merchant's Daughter" ("As I was a-walking up New London street", unknown, n.d.; also Harding B 25(1778), "The Silk Merchant's Daughter"
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Ship in Distress" (plot) and references there
cf. "MacDonald's Return to Glencoe (The Pride of Glencoe) [Laws N39]" (tune)
SAME_TUNE:
MacDonald's Return to Glencoe (The Pride of Glencoe) [Laws N39] (File: LN39)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Jamie and Nancy of Yarmouth
New England
The Rich Merchant's Daughter
File: LN10
===
NAME: Silk Merchant's Daughter (II), The: see Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07)
===
NAME: Silly Bill: see Common Bill (File: R119)
===
NAME: Silly Old Miser, The: see Darby O'Leary (File: CrSNB110)
===
NAME: Silly Sunday School, The: see Walkin' in the Parlor (File: Wa177)
===
NAME: Silver Dagger (I), The [Laws G21]
DESCRIPTION: Two young people wish to marry; the boy's parents are against it because the girl is poor. The heartbroken girl stabs herself to death. The boy, finding her dying, takes the dagger and stabs himself as well
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1904 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: love poverty suicide family
FOUND_IN: US(Ap,MW,Ro,SE,So) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (20 citations)
Laws G21, "The Silver Dagger"
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 57, "Come All Good People" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden, pp. 123-126, "The Silver Dagger" (2 texts plus 1 excerpt and references to 5 more, 1 tune)
Randolph 139, "The Silver Dagger" (6 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 161-163, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 139A)
Eddy 102, "The Green Fields and Meadows" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 23, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text)
BrownII 72, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text plus mention of 2 more)
Hudson 64, pp. 188-189, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text)
Shellans, pp. 34-35, "Parents, Warning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 38, "The Silver Dagger" (2 texts plus mention of 2 more, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 730-731, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text)
LPound-ABS, 52, pp. 121-122, "Silver Dagger"; pp. 123-124, "Silver Dagger" (2 texts)
JHCox 109, "The Silver Dagger" (2 texts plus mention of 1 more)
Fuson, pp. 71-72, "Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies" (1 text, with the "Fair and Tender Ladies" first line but otherwise clearly this song)
SharpAp 165, "The Silver Dagger" (1 text plus a fragment, 2 tunes, but the "B" fragment is probably "Charming Beauty Bright" [Laws M3])
Scarborough-SongCatcher, p. 42, "(The Bloody Dagger)" (1 short text, omitting the suicides)
Darling-NAS, pp. 221-222, "Young Men and Maids" (1 text)
DT 639, SILVDAG2*
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), pp. 202-203, "(The Young Lovers)" (1 text)
Roud #711
RECORDINGS:
Blue Sky Boys, "Katie Dear" (Bluebird B-7661, 1938)
Homer and Walter Callahan, "Katie Dear (Silver Dagger)" (Banner 33103/Melotone M-13071/Oriole 8353/Perfect 13017/Romeo 5353, c. 1934; Conqueror 9145, 1938; on GoingDown)
Sheila Clark, "Silver Dagger" (on LegendTomDula)
Betty Garland, "Never Make True Lovers Part" (on BGarland01)
Paul Joines, "Young Men and Maids" (on Persis1)
Tommy Moore, Clint Howard et al, "True Lovers" (on Ashley02)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Drowsy Sleeper" [Laws M4]
cf. "Greenback Dollar" (plot)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
An Awful Warning
O Parents, Parents, All Take Warning
NOTES: For the relationship between this and "The Drowsy Sleeper," see the notes on that song. Several songs are filed there which contain nearly as much material from that song as from this. - RBW
File: LG21
===
NAME: Silver Dagger (II), The: see The Drowsy Sleeper [Laws M4] (File: LM04)
===
NAME: Silver Flagon, The
DESCRIPTION: "'Lift high,' shouts Clarke, 'the Silver Flagon...The gift of good John Jacob Astor... I drink the curse of hated savage."" When the flagon is found missing, Clarke hangs an Indian, despite a lack of evidence
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1958 (Burt); supposedly written 1914
KEYWORDS: theft punishment execution Indians(Am.) discrimination
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Burt, pp. 133-134, "(The Silver Flagon)" (1 text)
NOTES: The John Jacob Astor of this song is of course not the man who went down with the _Titanic_, but his great-grandfather of the same name (1763-1848), who came to the United States in 1784 and founded the family fortune in the fur trade. As the song says, he founded the city of Astoria in 1811.
According to Burt, this piece arises out of an incident in one of Astor's fur expeditions. John Clarke, one member of the company, was responsible for transporting the flagon. On May 30, 1813, due largely to his own carelessness, it was stolen. Clarke saw an Indian sneaking about, and even though the unfortunate man did not have the flagon or any of the other items missing, Clarke hanged him. - RBW
File: Burt133
===
NAME: Silver Herring, The (Caller Herring)
DESCRIPTION: Peddler's song/street cry: "Who'll buy my silver herrings?/I cry from door to door". Verses tell different ways prepare herring, plus different names. Many enjoy eating herring; more weep for the fishermen who are lost catching them
AUTHOR: Carolina Oliphaunt, Lady Nairne ?
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1800 (Nairne's publication), with the tune older; O. J. Abbott learned the traditional version c. 1890
LONG_DESCRIPTION: Peddler's song/street cry: "Who'll buy my silver herrings?/I cry from door to door". Verses tell different ways to cook and eat herring, plus different names - Yarmouth bloaters or Digby kipper red. Many enjoy eating herring; many more weep for the fishermen who are lost catching them or fear for their loved ones' safety
KEYWORDS: grief death fishing work food nonballad animal sailor worker family
FOUND_IN: Britain(England) Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
DT, CALLHERR
Roud #3824
RECORDINGS:
O. J. Abbott, "The Silver Herring" (on Abbott1)
NOTES: If, as I believe, O. J. Abbott's "The Silver Herrings" is a traditional version of Lady Nairne's "Caller Herring," it has a complicated pedigree. Lady Nairne wrote "Caller Herrin'" "toward the end of the 18th century" to help Nathaniel Gow (son of Neil Gow). Nairne set it to a harpsichord piece by the elder Gow, which itself was based on a fish-seller's call.
To make life even more complicated, Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) had his own herring cry ("Herrings"; see Kathleen Hoagland, editor, _One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry_ (New York, 1947), p. 324). This has lines such as, "Be not sparing. Leave off swearing. Buy my herring Fresh from Malahide, Better never was tried.... Come, sixpence a dozen, to get me some bread, Or, like my own herrings, I soon shall be dead." Possibly independent, but who knows.... - RBW
File: RcSilHer
===
NAME: Silver Jack [Laws C24]
DESCRIPTION: Robert Waite condemns the Bible as fictitious and Jesus as "just a common man." Silver Jack proceeds to beat the "infidel" until he admits the error of his ways.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1915 (article, John A. Lomax)
KEYWORDS: Bible fight
FOUND_IN: US(MW,NW,Ro,SE,So)
REFERENCES: (7 citations)
Laws C24, "Silver Jack"
Rickaby 32, "Silver Jack" (1 text)
Hudson 78, pp. 206-207, "Silver Jack" (1 text)
Lomax-FSNA 60, "Silver Jack" (1 text, 1 tune)
Beck 38, "Lumberjack's Revival" (1 text)
DT 606, SILVRJAK(*)
ADDITIONAL: Hal Cannon, editor, _Cowboy Poetry: A Gathering_, Giles M. Smith, 1985, pp. 21-23, "Silver Jack" (1 text)
Roud #705
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Clementine" (tune)
cf. "Bung Yer Eye" (character)
cf. "The Protestant Maid" (subject: religious conversion) and references there
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Religion in Camp
Silver Jack the Evangelist
NOTES: John "Silver Jack" Driscoll seems to have been the subject of this ballad; a quarrelsome, fighting man from the Saginaw valley of Michigan, he apparently fought too hard one time, and was sent to prison. To quote T. G. Belanger: "He died with his boots off, in the Ottawa Hotel, in L'Anse, Michigan, April 1, 1895. Beside him ...were found the following: a bottle of cough medicine, $85.00 in bills, and a note: 'This will be enough to bury me.'" - PJS
This particular example of Christian charity and peacefulness is suspected by both Hudson and Lomax (without supporting evidence) of having been originally published in a newspaper. Given its anti-intellectual tone (stanza 1 describes Waite as "Kind of cute and smart and tonguey; Guess he was a graduate"), I am inclined to doubt this. - RBW
I'm not; newspapers could be rabidly anti-intellectual. Read the _Chicago Tribune_ during the McCormick era, or the early Hearst press. - PJS
But would any newspaperman claim that "the spread of infidelity Was checked in camp that day"? - RBW
File: LC24
===
NAME: Silver Pin, The: see The Keys of Canterbury (File: R354)
===
NAME: Silver Threads: see I Know a Boarding-House (File: R479)
===
NAME: Silver Threads among the Gold
DESCRIPTION: "Darling, I am growing old, Silver threads among the gold Shine upon my brow today; Life is fading fast away; But, my darling, you will be... Always young and fair to me." The singer describes how (his) belove will grow old, but he will love her anyway
AUTHOR: Words: Eben Eugene Rexford / Music: Hart Pease Danks
EARLIEST_DATE: 1873
KEYWORDS: love age nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (5 citations)
RJackson-19CPop, pp. 194-197, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (1 text, 1 tune)
Geller-Famous, pp. 1-4, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 259, "Silver Threads Among The Gold" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 501, "Silver Threads Among the Gold"
DT, SILVTHRD*
ST RJ19194 (Full)
Roud #6403
RECORDINGS:
Henry Burr, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (Victor 19131, 1923)
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (OKeh 45488, 1930)
Andrew Jenkins & Carson Robison, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (OKeh 45246, 1928)
Frank & James McCravy, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (Brunswick 197, 1928; rec. 1927)
McMichen's Melody Men, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (Columbia 15247-D, 1928; rec. 1927)
Marie Narelle, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (CYL: Edison 9162, 1905)
Riley Puckett, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (Columbia 405-D, 1925)
Royal Hawaiians, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (Broadway 8100, c. 1930)
Will Oakland, "Silver Threads Among the Gold" (CYL: Edison [BA] 1547, n.d.)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Sweet Genevieve" (theme)
cf. "When You and I Were Young, Maggie" (theme)
SAME_TUNE:
At the Boarding House (Silver Threads; While the Organ Pealed Potatoes) (File: DTbordho)
NOTES: Jackson notes, "The fashionable message of the song -- that romantic love remains always young even though bodies wrinkle and age -- was apparently lost on Danks's wife; she left the forty-year-old composer the year after 'Silver Threads' appeared."
This was the only song by Rexford (1848-1916) that amounted to anything, but it by itself was enough to cause monuments to be erected to him in both his birthplace in New York and his primary place of residence in Wisconsin.
Danks (1834-1903) spent much of his life trying to make a career of music; he composed several other melodies and several stage pieces -- but, again, none of them amounted to anything.
According to James J. Geller's _Famous Songs and their Stories_, this collaboration came about in a curious way: Rexford was editing a Wisconsin farm magazine and, needing a space filler, threw in one of his poems. Danks saw it, thought it worth setting to music, and sent Rexford a small sum to purchase the rights. That song went nowhere -- but Rexford responded by sending Danks much of his other works. Among those songs was "Silver Threads." Danks supplied music, and the two had the only hit they would ever produce- RBW
File: RJ19194
===
NAME: Silver Tide, The: see The Silvery Tide [Laws O37] (File: LO37)
===
NAME: Silver Whistle, The
DESCRIPTION: Scots Gaelic, welcoming Bonnie Prince Charlie to Scotland: "Oh who will play the silver whistle? ... (when my) king's son to sea is going?" The singer describes those who will welcome Charlie, as well as the handsome prince himself
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1909 (Kennedy-Fraser)
KEYWORDS: Jacobites ship return travel
HISTORICAL_REFERENCES: 1720-1788 - Life of Charles Edward Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie"
1745 - The (last) Jacobite Rebellion
1746 - Prince Charlie's rebellion crushed at Culloden.
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Hebr))
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Kennedy 9, "Co Sheinneas an Fhideag Airgid? (O Who Will Play the Silver Whistle)" (1 text+ English translation, 1 tune)
Kennedy-Fraser I, pp. 134-135, "An Island Jacobite Song/The Silver Whistle (An Fhideag Airgid)" (1 text+ English translation, 1 tune)
DT, SILVWHIS
File: K009
===
NAME: Silvery Lee, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer says "never river saw I any Half so fair or dear to me As my own, the silvery Lee" He prefers it to the Rhine (and whisky to wine), the Tagus, Tiber, Danube, Seine and Elbe. But he is influenced by "her voice" who also favors the Lee.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1818 (Cork broadside, according to Croker-PopularSongs)
KEYWORDS: river drink wine nonballad
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 226-227, "The Silvery Lee" (1 text)
File: CrPS226
===
NAME: Silvery Moon, The
DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a girl lamenting in the moonlight. Her lover was true and brave, "but now he is dead, the youth once so gay... And he silently sleeps while I'm left here to weep By the sweet silver light of the moon."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1847 (Journal of William Histed of the Cortes)
KEYWORDS: love death separation
FOUND_IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Randolph 800, "The Silvery Moon" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 233-234, "Silvery Moon" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dean, p. 94, "Sweet Silver Light of the Moon" (1 text)
Roud #906
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Roll On, Silver Moon
File: R800
===
NAME: Silvery Tide, The [Laws O37]
DESCRIPTION: A nobleman courts Molly while Henry is away. The noble threatens to drown Molly if she will not marry him. She refuses. He strangles her and throws her in the sea. Henry finds her body and the noble's handkerchief. The nobleman is hanged, and Henry mourns
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: before 1839 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.13(172))
KEYWORDS: murder love revenge execution
FOUND_IN: US(MW,So) Canada(Mar) Britain(Scotland,England(South)) Ireland
REFERENCES: (14 citations)
Laws O37, "The Silvery Tide"
Belden, pp. 126-127, "Mary in the Silvery Tide" (1 text)
Randolph 93, "The Silvery Tide" (1 text, 1 tune)
Eddy 60, "Out on the Silvery Tide" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 17, "The Silver Tide" (1 text)
Doerflinger, pp. 282-283, "Mary on the Silvery Tide" (1 text)
SHenry H77, pp. 418-419, "The Silver[y] Tide" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 472-473, "The Silvery Tide" (1 text)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 125-127, "The Silvery Tide" ( text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 206-209, "The Silvery Tide" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Mackenzie 52, "Mary on the Silvery Tide" (1 text)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 107-109,255, "The Silvery Tide" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 93, "The Silvery Tide" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 336, SILVTIDE*
Roud #561
RECORDINGS:
Paddy Breen, "On the Banks of the Silvery Tide" (on Voice10)
Sam Jagoe, "The Silvery Tide" (on Miramichi1)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.13(172), "Poor Mary in the Silvery Tide," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth b.28(25a) View 2 of 2[partly illegible], Firth c.13(171), Harding B 11(3093), Harding B 11(3094), Harding B 11(3095), Harding B 11(3096), Harding B 11(3097), Harding B 20(276), "Poor Mary in the Silvery Tide"; 2806 c.16(275), "Poor Mary in the Silvery Tide!"; Firth b.27(202), "Poor Mary of the Silvery Tide"; Harding B 11(66), "Mary of the Silvery Tide"
File: LO37
===
NAME: Silvy: see The Female Highwayman [Laws N21] (File: LN21)
===
NAME: Sim and the Widow: see Sim Courted the Widow (File: R371)
===
NAME: Sim Courted the Widow
DESCRIPTION: "Seven long years did Sim court the widder... Seven long years, and Sim didn't git her." Sim went home grieving -- but not before stealing a curry-comb. Forced to return it by "my son John," the rest of the song relates Sim's disjointed further adventures
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: courting rejection theft humorous
FOUND_IN: US(So)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Belden, pp. 436-437, "Sim and the Widow" (2 texts)
Randolph 371, "Sim Courted the Widow" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 301-302, "Sim Courted the Widow" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 371)
Roud #7621
File: R371
===
NAME: Simon and Janet
DESCRIPTION: Old man and wife, Simon and Janet, hear Bonaparte has landed. In spite of her dreams of his death, he goes to join the fight. The captain tells him to be ready next morning. It is a false alarm. They return from the war unscathed, cursing the French.
AUTHOR: Andrew Scott (1757-1839) (source: Greig #27, p. 2)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1908 (GreigDuncan1)
KEYWORDS: age army war Scotland humorous husband wife Napoleon
FOUND_IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Greig #25, p. 1, "Simon and Janet" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 73, "Simon and Janet" (1 text)
Roud #5771
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Noble Huntly" (subject: the threatened invasion by Napoleon)
NOTES: GreigDuncan1: "The song refers to the false alarm of Bonaparte's landing when the beacons were lit by mistake in the Border counties of England and Scotland on 2 February 1804." - BS
File: GrD1073
===
NAME: Simon Slick: see Whoa Mule (The Kickin' Mule) (File: LoF231)
===
NAME: Simon's Lady: see Willie's Lady [Child 6] (File: C006)
===
NAME: Simple Gifts
DESCRIPTION: "'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down Where we ought to be...." In praise of "simplicity" and love, which bring the hope of heaven
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE:
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (2 citations)
Darling-NAS, pp. 258-259, "Simple Gifts" (1 text)
DT, SIMPLEGF*
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "I Will Bow And Be Simple" (theme)
SAME_TUNE:
The Lord of the Dance (by Sydney Carter; DT LORDANCE)
NOTES: This song has become one of the most popular in the Folk Revival. The idea of a simple life seems very refreshing in today's overcomplicated age. But I wonder how many of the people who have sung the song realize that "simplicity" means, among other things, abstinence from sex? - RBW
File: DarN259A
===
NAME: Simple Little Nancy Brown
DESCRIPTION: Various girls go out, get in trouble, and find unexpected solutions. Example: "They went walking by the beach, Went in swimming, got out of reach; She lost her socks and evr'thing, So what d'ye suppose she came home in... She came home in the twilight."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1905
KEYWORDS: humorous nonsense wordplay
FOUND_IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
FSCatskills 149, "Simple Little Nancy Brown" (1 text plus assorted excerpts, 1 tune)
ST FSC149 (Partial)
Roud #4613
NOTES: According to Cazden et al, this is an updated version, with new tune, chorus, and plot twists, of a piece published in 1905 as "Fol de Rol Dol." - RBW
File: FSC149
===
NAME: Simple Plowboy, The: see The Jolly Plowboy (Little Plowing Boy; The Simple Plowboy) [Laws M24] (File: LM24)
===
NAME: Simpson Bush
DESCRIPTION: "Attention give while I relate Though horrible is the shame, I'll tell you of a doomed man, Bush they call his name." He is sentenced to die "for the murder of his own dear wife." The singer describes the methods of the murder, then moralizes
AUTHOR: James W. Day (Jilson Setters)
EARLIEST_DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: murder husband wife children
FOUND_IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 129-130, (no title) (1 text)
NOTES: Definitely not one of Setters's better songs. - RBW
File: ThBa129
===
NAME: Sin-Sick Soul, The
DESCRIPTION: "Brother George is a-gwine to glory, take care the sin-sick soul" (x3).
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 49, "The Sin-Sick Soul" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #12007
File: AWG049B
===
NAME: Sin's Reward: see The Fair Flower of Northumberland [Child 9] (File: C009)
===
NAME: Since I Laid My Burden Down
DESCRIPTION: Gospel song, describing singer's plans to meet with his mother and with Jesus, shake hands with angels, walk and talk in glory "since I laid my burden down."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1928 (recording, Elders McIntorsh & Edwards' Sanctified Singers)
KEYWORDS: death nonballad religious Jesus
FOUND_IN: US(SE,So,MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 70, "Since I Laid My Burden Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Roy Acuff & his Smoky Mountain Boys, "When I Lay My Burden Down" (OKeh 05587/Conqueror 9433, 1940; Conqueror 9667, 1941)
Bessemer Sunset Four, "When I Lay My Burden Down" (Vocalion 1488, 1930)
Rev. Clayborn, "When I Lay My Burden Down" (Vocalion 1458, 1930; rec. 1929)
Roosevelt Graves, "When I Lay My Burden Down" (Paramount 12974, 1930; rec. 1929)
Elders McIntorsh & Edwards' Sanctified Singers, "Since I Laid My Burden Down" (OKeh 8698, 1929; rec. 1928; on AAFM2, Babylon)
Turner Junior Johnson, "When I Lay My Burden Down" (AFS 6608 B3, 1942; on LC10, LCTreas)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" (tune)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Glory, Glory Halleluiah
Since I Laid My Burthen Down
File: ADR70
===
NAME: Since I Left Arkansas: see Hang Me, Oh Hang Me (Been All Around This World) (File: R146)
===
NAME: Since James Went on the Stage
DESCRIPTION: "My name is Patrick Hogan, in this city I reside, I raised a son to manhood and he was my joy and pride," but now "me carpet is tore and me house is in a roar Since James went on the stage." The singer tells of the troubles caused by his son's acting
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: father children humorous
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, p. 62, "Since James Went on the Stage" (1 text)
Roud #5499
NOTES: This looks like a stage song, but I have been unable to locate the original. - RBW
File: Dean062B
===
NAME: Since Love Can Enter an Iron Door: see The Iron Door [Laws M15] (File: LM15)
===
NAME: Since Terrence Joined the Gang
DESCRIPTION: "My name is Michael Slattery, and from Ireland I came." He has a son Terrence, who has "joined the gang" and now wears a "big watch and chain," talks back to his parents, steals, and has been convicted of theft
AUTHOR: Words: W. Scanlon / Music: William Cronin
EARLIEST_DATE: 1922 (Dean); a broadside published c. 1870 by Bell & Company; probably found in Beadle's Half-Dime Singer's Library #5 of 1878
KEYWORDS: father children robbery prison
FOUND_IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Dean, pp. 113-114, "Since Terrence Joined the Gang"
Roud #9580
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Since Terry Joined the Gang (broadside title)
File: Dean113B
===
NAME: Sindbad
DESCRIPTION: "Oh, it's Sindbad [sic] the sailor and Robinson Crusoe, I left my native counterie a roaming for to go. I went to be a sailor returned just as you see, a mixture of an Indian, a Turk, and a Japanee. Oh, jeffer see my jibber ahoy...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1938 (Colcord)
KEYWORDS: sailor shanty rambling
FOUND_IN: US
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Colcord, p. 184, "Sindbad" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4712
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Sinbad
NOTES: Colcord included this as an example of Negro songs, but even she was doubtful of that origin. She says that it was sung by a Frenchman to Capt. Edward H. Cole, who then sang it to her. - SL
File: Colc184
===
NAME: Sinful Army
DESCRIPTION: "O fathers, ain't you glad you left that sinful army? (x2), The sea gave way -- Oh, mothers, ain't you glad the sea gave way? Oh, Moses smote the water And the children all passed over... And the sea gave way." "oh, brothers, ain't you glad...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1926 (Henry, from "a group of Negroes at Montreat, North Carolina")
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 199, "Pharaoh's Army" (1 text)
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Old Moses Smote the Waters" (lyrics)
File: MHAp199
===
NAME: Sinful Maiden, The: see The Fair Flower of Northumberland [Child 9] (File: C009)
===
NAME: Sinful to Flirt: see Willie Down by the Pond (Sinful to Flirt) [Laws G19] (File: LG19)
===
NAME: Sing a Song of Sixpence
DESCRIPTION: "Sing a song of sixpence A pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie." The pie is opened and the birds sing. The king is in the counting house, the queen in the parlour, the maid in the garden and a blackbird "snapped off her nose"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1784 (Gammar Gurton's Garland, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: food nonballad bird royalty
FOUND_IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Opie-Oxford2 486, "Sing a song of sixpence" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #3, p. 26, "(Sing a song of sixpence)"
MHenry-Appalachians, p. 229, "Sixpence" (1 text, with a different ending: No King in the counting-house, and the singer is "Sitting on a stool... a-singing for a fool")
Roud #13191
SAME_TUNE:
Three Brave Blacksmiths (File: OLcM071)
Sing a Song of Charleston (Vera Brodsky Lawrence, _Music for Patriots, Politicians, and Presidents_, p. 342)
NOTES: Opie-Oxford2: "It is well known that in the sixteenth century surprising things were inserted in pies.... The mention of a 'counting-house' ... also helps to indicate that the rhyme may be traced to the sixteenth century.... Kidson says that the air to which the words are generally sung is the old Scottish dance tune 'Calder Fair.'" - BS
The "surprising things" in the pie often were intended as a entertainment or reward (a theme which more recently inspired J. R. R. Tolkien's "Smith of Wootton Major," his last fantasy work).
The notes in the _Annotated Mother Goose_ mention a connection with Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon, and Anne Boleyn. But Henry VIII was the sort of monarch you wouldn't be likely to find in a counting house. If there were an English king involved, especially in the sixteenth century, it would doubtless be Henry VII, who was such a money-grubber that he would without doubt have had intimate relations with his cash had he figured out a way to do it.
One book I read seemed to be implying that this is about the Popes during the so-called "Babylonian Captivity" of the thirteenth century, when they resided at Avignon rather than Rome. Some of the Avignon Popes were indeed very concerned with money, but that seems extraordinarily early. And what does it all represent? The Great Company invading the Papal territories? England taking possession of Acquitaine after the Treaty of Bretigny? All these things fall under the heading "possible but not at all convincing." - RBW
File: GGGSiSo6
===
NAME: Sing a Song, Blow-Along O!
DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Way down in Dixie! Way down in Dixie, oh I had a gal. Ch: Sing a song, blow-along O!" Verses continue describing the aforementioned gal, the singer, and what they did (or would do) to each other.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong
FOUND_IN: West Indies
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Hugill, p.417, "Sing a Song, Blow-Along O!" ( 1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 318]
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "Miss Lucy Loo" (chorus lyrics)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Dixie Land
NOTES: According to Hugill, this along with most West Indies shanties, was probably used as a cotton loading song before it went to sea. - SL
File: Hugi417
===
NAME: Sing Ivy: see My Father Had an Acre of Land (File: K300)
===
NAME: Sing One for Me
DESCRIPTION: "Down in the lonesome pine woods, This song is sung with glee. Now I have sung a song for you And you may sing one for me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1957 (Ives-NewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: music nonballad
FOUND_IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Ives-NewBrunswick, p. 34, "Sing One for Me" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Ives-NewBrunswick quotes the singer: "Here's a verse that used to be sung sometimes after a song." - BS
File: IvNB034
===
NAME: Sing Out (I), A: see O Mary, Come Down! (File: Hugi368)
===
NAME: Sing Outs
DESCRIPTION: Likely the predecessor to the full shanty (which has discernable words and a division of solo & chorus parts). These are short phrases or vocalizations, often made up of nonsense syllables, and used for hauling.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: shanty work nonballad nonsense
FOUND_IN: Britain US Canada
REFERENCES: (3 citations)
Harlow pp. 8-9, 20-21, 24, 29, "Handsome Charlie's Sing Out," "Hauling in the Slack of the Foresheet," "A Sing Out" (3 texts, 3 tunes & several fragments)
Hugill pp. 573-579, "Sing-outs for Rope, Capstan, and Halyard Winch" (several fragments) [AbEd, pp. 398-401]
Doerflinger pp. 91-92, (no title, quoted from Capt. James P. Barker)
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Haul Out
Sweat-in' Up Chants
Short Cries
Royal Artillery Man
St. Helena Soldier
Hauley, Hauley-Ho!
Holystoning
NOTES: Several of the examples listed by Hugill had titles, though the title and what there was of the text were generally the same. Many were quoted from other sources, and I've listed them in the alternate titles field. - SL
File: Hugi573
===
NAME: Sing Sally Oh: see Sing, Sally O! (File: Hugi288)
===
NAME: Sing Song Kitty: see Kemo Kimo (File: R282)
===